Not So Bad --a WLB drabble (PG-13)

[librarian_7]

This is a “between the lines” drabble (okay, more an “after the line” drabble) from a little scene in WLB. A bit of perspective from a character I don’t think anyone else has written…


“Leave the runaways alone, Leo.”

Man, it’s easy for him to sit there and say that to me. Easy for him to be all righteous. He don’t know what it’s been like, out here. He don’t know how it is for me. I don’t hurt those kids. I help ‘em. And if I get what I need back from them, that’s not so bad. They never know. It’s not like the stuff that got done to me. I don’t do—things—to them, not like I got done. I just take a little blood. That’s all. That’s not so bad.

[Lilly]

OMG. I don't think I've ever had this strong a reaction to a drabble! My eyes started welling up and I had shivers by the end.

This is brilliant, Lucky. It sounds so much like Leo, not only in voice, but also in his conviction that he was doing right by those kids.

[allegrita]

Oh, Lucky--that is a really, really powerful drabble. Leo is one of those characters who you just kind of wonder about. How did he get the way he is? What happened to him? And in a hundred spare, harsh words, you've told us. Maybe more than we really wanted to know.

[MickLifeCrisis]

Very good! I have to admit I had never given Leo a second thought till now. Makes me wonder what the backstory is between Mick and Leo. Leo was certainly ready to take off as soon as he saw Mick.

[librarian_7]

Oh, thanks. I've been thinking about Leo for some time, and surmising his story. It did seem like anything longer, and I'd have to go into detail that...I think no one wants to hear. Not all the vamps in L.A. are rich and powerful. Some of them are, as Mick says, scrounging to get by.

Thanks for reading!

Lucky

[francis]

This really got to me. There are a lot of people like Leo and there's always a cause why they are so damaged. Doesn't make it right, but makes me think of all the things that can go wrong with a kid. Poor Leo.
You are a master of words.

[jen]

Fabulous!

Leo was one of those damaged souls that I never thought much about either. He was frozen, as many vamps seem to be, by the traumas of their human lifetime, yet as you point out here, he is not trying to create victims of the runaways. I hope he finds his road to redemption.

Very thoughtful drabble!!! Thank you.

[librarian_7]

Thanks, francis and jen. Yes, Leo was clearly damaged, and it's easy to see why Mick would have such contempt for him...but I definitely see him as much a victim as anything.

And I think that's one of the amazing things about ML. They could easily have presented Leo simply as a corrupt, evil vampire who preyed on children, but they chose instead, in that short space of time, to "humanize" him, and make him something more. Someone it might pay to think about, and not just dismiss as a passing character. The range of vampires presented in ML was astonishing. Every one was different, with different motivations and backgrounds. Even when the backgrounds weren't spelled out, it was obvious that there was more to these characters than met the eye.

Lucky