(Fic) Trigger Discipline

[stormwreath]

LJ's been quiet lately. Too quiet. So here's a really noisy fic to liven things up...

Title: Trigger Discipline
Characters: Buffy, Kennedy, Willow
Setting: early S8
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 2436

Summary: Buffy's friends have been trying to persuade her that she needs to get over her irrational fear of firearms.

(Author's Note: I'm from Britain. I've never

Comments

[norwie2010]

Soooo - you just love badass!Buffy, right? ;-)

[stormwreath]

Hey, I'm quite fond of badass Willow too. But it was Buffy's turn. :-)

[jonathankorman]

Willow reciting the gun safety rules, and having trouble with them, was a lovely touch.

[stormwreath]

Thanks! While the mood I was going for was generally upbeat, I did think there'd be an awkward moment for her there at the reminder.

[bluemage55]

Awesome fic, and as an American (and therefore automatically a gun nut), I'd like to congratulate you for excellent technical accuracy despite being limited to theoretical knowledge only. :)

The use of .45 ACP was also a nice choice, as this is probably the ideal cartridge for the types of opponents they face. Given that they're filthy rich from bank robbing, it might have been more appropriate for them to have a modern variant such as the MEU(SOC) pistol, but I suppose Kennedy might simply have a taste for old-school (hey, she never complains about Willow's withcy dresses!).

Thanks for writing!

[stormwreath]

Thanks! After drafting the fic I watched a whole bunch of YouTube videos of people firing handguns and explaining how they work, to get the details right.

I chose the M1911 partly because it's a gun I'd actually heard of, but also because I read it was originally designed during the Philippines wars because the US Army needed a pistol powerful enough to to immediately take down or kill a charging insurgent with a machete in a single shot... that sounded like something a Slayer would find handy too.

[bluemage55]

Thanks! After drafting the fic I watched a whole bunch of YouTube videos of people firing handguns and explaining how they work, to get the details right.

It's always nice when writers do their homework. :)

I chose the M1911 partly because it's a gun I'd actually heard of, but also because I read it was originally designed during the Philippines wars because the US Army needed a pistol powerful enough to to immediately take down or kill a charging insurgent with a machete in a single shot... that sounded like something a Slayer would find handy too.

Yeah, the M1911 offers among the most stopping power you can sensibly attain in a semi-auto handgun without excessive recoil, so it's a reasonable firearm for a Slayer (or anyone who battles demons) to carry. The aforementioned MEU (SOC) pistol is essentially a M1911 heavily upgraded to modern standards by US Marine Corps gunsmiths (since firearms technology has improved by a bit in the last 101 years).

[rhi_silverflame]

Oh my god, I love this. I love everything about this. The awesome Slayery competitiveness between Buffy and Kennedy (which Buffy will, of course, win, but I enjoy Kennedy trying to have her superior moment), the familiar teamwork vibe between Willow and Kennedy, the two of them working together to get Buffy to come around, just . . . all of it. The character interactions in this are just wonderful.

Willow reciting gun safety rules is just a lovely, poignant touch -- and now I'm intensely curious as to what transpired between her and Kennedy before this to get her to that point, too.

Honestly, you've just made my day with this.

[stormwreath]

Thank you! :D

[rhi_silverflame]

Considering the first time we get to see her use a crossbow on the show, she takes down a Bringer with a headshot in the dark (without a whole lot of setup and aiming time)? Yeah, I can absolutely see Kennedy being naturally good with firearms. We already know she's got good marksmanship skills, and with that competitive streak it makes complete sense for her to want to be really good at marksmanship in multiple ways. (In my personal headcanon she has an innate distrust of them, but that's just me, and your reasoning is way more developed than mine.) I can also completely see firearms training being an early object lesson for her in respecting and being responsible with weaponry of any kind. Likewise, I definitely agree with your reasoning for Willow

[erimthar]

Cool story. Speaking as an American who knows nothing more about guns than what I see on cop shows.

I'm surprised at how effectively guns are kept out of the hands of criminals in the U.K. I know you can't own handguns there or buy them in stores, but I'd think gangsters would be able to smuggle them in.

The thought of Centaur Dawn toting around a big-ass gun makes me wish I were a better artist than I am.

[stormwreath]

Thanks!

Regarding guns in the UK: my understanding is that most illegally-owned firearms in America are stolen from their previous legal owners. In Britain, that reservoir of available guns simply isn't there. As for smuggling them into the country: we're an island, so that means either a boat or an aircraft, not just hiding them in your car and driving over the border. Airport security has always been strict.

And most important, the majority of criminals don't even want guns. Why would they risk turning a simple robbery or mugging into a murder? They don't have to tool themselves up for self-defence against other people with guns.

There is gun crime here, but over half of it happens in just three cities, mostly between gangs who re involved in drug-dealing and so forth and mostly just shoot at each other. I gather most of their guns are either converted replicas, or smuggled in from Northern Ireland.