Tales of the Slayer: Presumption

Welcome to easily my favorite story in the Buffyverse not featuring the main characters. Once more we are back with the Slayers.Welcome to Presumption and like the title this issue is all about people presuming things before getting all the facts.

The story takes place during a ball held by a single man. A young girl shows up and dances with the man. She is not your normal girl, even less so in this olden age. She speaks her mind and isn't afraid to offend people, while the man doesn't wish to be noticed by anyone.

The writer lets us know quickly that one is the slayer and one is a vampire. Although everyone could have guessed that from the start. The man and woman go their ways and figure out how to go about their goals, killing each other.

The two step outside and we learn the clever twist. The girl is the vampire and the man is the slayer. Only he isn't a man. He is in fact a woman pretending to be a man in order to go unnoticed. It plays on our expectations and spins them on  their heads. The mark of a great writer.

So who is the writer? Jane Espenson. You want a good bit of advice? If you want to watch good TV just follow her career. She knows how to write, how to tell stories better than almost anyone else. I mean anyone who worked on both Buffy and Battlestar Galactica  and Once Upon a time and The Next Generation and Firefly, my god this woman is Geek royaltiy and should get a lot more respect and notice from the fans.

Also if you want to be a writer, check out her blog! http://janeespenson.com/