BtVS Ficlet: Changing Roles
Title: Changing Roles
Fandom: BtVS
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Giles, Buffy, Watchers’ Council.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 583
Spoilers: General for first three seasons.
Summary: Giles reflects on his role as Watcher and how that has changed since he met his Slayer.
Written For: Challenge 279: Amnesty at fan_flashworks, using Challenge 47: Teaching.
Disclaimer: I don’t own BtVS, or the characters.
Giles’ job as Watcher isn’t solely to watch, which makes his official title something of a misnomer. He’s mentor, instructor, and advisor, he provides guidance, and nurtures his Slayer, helping her to become the best that she can be. At least, that’s how the Slayer/Watcher dynamic is supposed to work. In Buffy’s case things are a bit more… fluid.
He does train her in weapons and fighting techniques, it’s important for her to understand and be able to use the various tools of her trade. Stakes only work on vampires, they’re of no use whatsoever on other demon species, so she needs to be conversant with a wide range of weapons, and she’s proven herself to be a quick study. It’s a shame the same can’t be said when it comes to books; Buffy tends to leave the research to her friends, and to Giles himself, which he supposes means he’s at least fulfilling his role of advisor if nothing else.
Somehow it’s the nurturing aspect of his duties that has taken over from his position as teacher and imparter of wisdom. A Watcher is supposed to remain… aloof, to direct his Slayer, control her, but keep a professional distance. The Watchers’ Council would have its members believe that Slayers are themselves merely tools; break one and a new one takes her place. Forming an emotional attachment with one’s Slayer is frowned upon, since most don’t survive past their teens; intellectually Giles can understand the wisdom of that and yet he finds himself unable to maintain the expected detachment.
Buffy is a remarkable young woman. Giles can’t help but admire her independence of spirit, even while her stubbornness confounds him. He’d always believed that he lacked any paternal instincts; nonetheless, he has developed an undeniable affection for his charge, and he suspects she sees him almost as more of a surrogate father figure than a mentor or teacher. In turn, she has become the daughter he never expected to have, precious beyond all imagining, and there is nothing he wouldn’t do to protect her.
The senior members of the Watchers’ Council would no doubt believe such affection weakens his ability to carry out his duties, but Giles sees things differently; he and Buffy are not merely teacher and student but a cohesive unit. He doesn’t need to compel her to obey him with threats and demands of obedience, he’s not a figure of austere authority in her eyes; he’s someone she trusts, someone she can turn to no matter what, knowing she has his full support whenever she needs it. Blind obedience has been the downfall of many a Slayer, so conditioned to follow orders that they were unable to think for themselves. That won’t be Buffy’s fate, not if Giles can help it.
She’s brave, and clever, and adaptable, and he couldn’t be more proud of her if she were his own flesh and blood, but he’s taught her as much as he can. She’s no longer a child but a young woman, and she’s ready to stand on her own. Slayer and college freshman; has that ever been done before? Giles doesn’t recall, but it seems unlikely.
He was her teacher while she needed him to be, but it seems to Giles he has learned as much from her as she has from him. He likes to think that knowing Buffy Summers has made him a better person than he was before. He owes her more than he can ever say.
The End
Fandom: BtVS
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Giles, Buffy, Watchers’ Council.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 583
Spoilers: General for first three seasons.
Summary: Giles reflects on his role as Watcher and how that has changed since he met his Slayer.
Written For: Challenge 279: Amnesty at fan_flashworks, using Challenge 47: Teaching.
Disclaimer: I don’t own BtVS, or the characters.
Giles’ job as Watcher isn’t solely to watch, which makes his official title something of a misnomer. He’s mentor, instructor, and advisor, he provides guidance, and nurtures his Slayer, helping her to become the best that she can be. At least, that’s how the Slayer/Watcher dynamic is supposed to work. In Buffy’s case things are a bit more… fluid.
He does train her in weapons and fighting techniques, it’s important for her to understand and be able to use the various tools of her trade. Stakes only work on vampires, they’re of no use whatsoever on other demon species, so she needs to be conversant with a wide range of weapons, and she’s proven herself to be a quick study. It’s a shame the same can’t be said when it comes to books; Buffy tends to leave the research to her friends, and to Giles himself, which he supposes means he’s at least fulfilling his role of advisor if nothing else.
Somehow it’s the nurturing aspect of his duties that has taken over from his position as teacher and imparter of wisdom. A Watcher is supposed to remain… aloof, to direct his Slayer, control her, but keep a professional distance. The Watchers’ Council would have its members believe that Slayers are themselves merely tools; break one and a new one takes her place. Forming an emotional attachment with one’s Slayer is frowned upon, since most don’t survive past their teens; intellectually Giles can understand the wisdom of that and yet he finds himself unable to maintain the expected detachment.
Buffy is a remarkable young woman. Giles can’t help but admire her independence of spirit, even while her stubbornness confounds him. He’d always believed that he lacked any paternal instincts; nonetheless, he has developed an undeniable affection for his charge, and he suspects she sees him almost as more of a surrogate father figure than a mentor or teacher. In turn, she has become the daughter he never expected to have, precious beyond all imagining, and there is nothing he wouldn’t do to protect her.
The senior members of the Watchers’ Council would no doubt believe such affection weakens his ability to carry out his duties, but Giles sees things differently; he and Buffy are not merely teacher and student but a cohesive unit. He doesn’t need to compel her to obey him with threats and demands of obedience, he’s not a figure of austere authority in her eyes; he’s someone she trusts, someone she can turn to no matter what, knowing she has his full support whenever she needs it. Blind obedience has been the downfall of many a Slayer, so conditioned to follow orders that they were unable to think for themselves. That won’t be Buffy’s fate, not if Giles can help it.
She’s brave, and clever, and adaptable, and he couldn’t be more proud of her if she were his own flesh and blood, but he’s taught her as much as he can. She’s no longer a child but a young woman, and she’s ready to stand on her own. Slayer and college freshman; has that ever been done before? Giles doesn’t recall, but it seems unlikely.
He was her teacher while she needed him to be, but it seems to Giles he has learned as much from her as she has from him. He likes to think that knowing Buffy Summers has made him a better person than he was before. He owes her more than he can ever say.
The End