deird_lj: (Default)
deird_lj ([personal profile] deird_lj) wrote2009-07-23 10:01 am
Entry tags:

Character Ages

Okay, [livejournal.com profile] lavastar, you've got me interested now...

A two-question poll for everyone:

[Poll #1433659]



Questions? Comments?
next_to_normal: (Default)

[personal profile] next_to_normal 2009-07-23 12:58 am (UTC)(link)
I would think, if Faith had gone through the Cruciamentum and survived, surely she'd tell Buffy about it. Since Buffy clearly has no idea in "Helpless," I think it's safe to say that didn't happen.

I also don't think it's very likely that any Slayers are called after age 18. If a Slayer can be called at 19, then the Cruciamentum doesn't do the Council much good. They've been around long enough to have a pretty good idea of the over/under for Age Called, so if they put the test at 18, I'd say pretty much all Slayers are called before then.

[identity profile] gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com 2009-07-23 01:05 am (UTC)(link)
True, though I'm not so sure on the age restriction there. Nikki appeared older than 18, and it's unlikely she survived more than a few years as a Slayer. I don't know that the Powers work like that. I'd imagine that an older Slayer may be rare, but possible. The Council would likely try to get rid of them some other way, perhaps, since an older Slayer would be less likely to obey them (as...does actually happen with Faith).
deird1: Fred looking pretty and thoughful (Default)

[personal profile] deird1 2009-07-23 01:12 am (UTC)(link)
it's unlikely she survived more than a few years as a Slayer

Why, particularly?

[identity profile] gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com 2009-07-23 01:16 am (UTC)(link)
Nothing specific to Nikki. Just repeated assertions by almost everyone on the show that Slayers don't live more than a few years past being called (or past their 21st birthday, etc), and that Buffy is an extraordinary exception in her length of survival.
deird1: Fred looking pretty and thoughful (Default)

[personal profile] deird1 2009-07-23 01:27 am (UTC)(link)
I wouldn't necessarily say that Buffy is an extraordinary exception. (Well - I mean, of course she is, but not because she's been a Slayer for ages.)

I'd imagine that there have been quite a few Slayers, over the centuries, who have been Slayers for more than ten years. It's just not the norm.

[identity profile] gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com 2009-07-23 01:30 am (UTC)(link)
Possibly. There's still no canon indication that a) older Slayers can't be called b) that Nikki survived a longer-than-usual time as a Slayer.
deird1: Fred looking pretty and thoughful (Default)

[personal profile] deird1 2009-07-23 01:36 am (UTC)(link)
...apart from the fact that we've never seen anyone called at an older age, and if Nikki was called in her teens, she clearly has survived for longer than usual.

[identity profile] gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com 2009-07-23 01:41 am (UTC)(link)
Eh, we never see a Slayer get vamped but we recognize that may have happened at some point. Unless we see something on screen that tells us Slayers can't be called at a later age, I don't see why it should be concluded that it's impossible.

(no subject)

[identity profile] stormwreath.livejournal.com - 2009-07-23 02:38 (UTC) - Expand
next_to_normal: (Default)

[personal profile] next_to_normal 2009-07-23 01:22 am (UTC)(link)
I don't know that the Powers work like that.

Well, we don't know how it works at all, or if it's even the Powers that make the selection (my impression is it's not, if only because the Powers weren't a part of BtVS, and thus it's unlikely they were meant to play a role in Slayer mythology). But I would guess the Council has the best understanding of the parameters, just by virtue of studying the patterns of Slayers called.

Like I said, bad with guessing ages, but I could see Nikki being early twenties, maybe called at 17 and survived the Cruciamentum. (If she's good enough that Spike compares her to Buffy, she should be able to pass.) And if she was that much like Buffy, she could've survived longer than most Slayers do.

[identity profile] gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com 2009-07-23 01:31 am (UTC)(link)
Well, we don't know how it works at all, or if it's even the Powers that make the selection

...so...it's impossible to make a conclusion either which way...
next_to_normal: (Default)

[personal profile] next_to_normal 2009-07-23 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
Well, yeah, but if we only debated things that had a definite answer, we'd get bored pretty quickly. :)

[identity profile] gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com 2009-07-23 01:42 am (UTC)(link)
But then we'd all agree! And fandom would be in harmony!

Not "in Harmony" cause that would be weird.
ext_30166: Sierra looking holy shit amazing (Default)

[identity profile] lavastar.livejournal.com 2009-07-23 05:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Not "in Harmony" cause that would be weird.

Thanks A LOT for the bad brain pictures.
ext_15284: a wreath of lightning against a dark, stormy sky (kennedy)

[identity profile] stormwreath.livejournal.com 2009-07-23 01:25 am (UTC)(link)
CHLOE: It won't be me. I mean, not now. I mean, I'm too young.
KENNEDY: Doesn't work that way. In fact, the younger, the better. In fact, I'm starting to think it might be too late for me.
EVE/THE FIRST, BUT WE DON'T KNOW THAT YET: Never too late. It could be anyone.

Kennedy was 19 when she said that. I'm guessing a few Slayers were called at that age, but it's a bell curve centred around the age 15.
deird1: Fred looking pretty and thoughful (Default)

[personal profile] deird1 2009-07-23 01:29 am (UTC)(link)
Agreed. I'd say you'd get the occasional Slayer called at 19 or at 12, but they'd average about 15 or so.
ext_30166: Sierra looking holy shit amazing (Default)

[identity profile] lavastar.livejournal.com 2009-07-23 06:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Like with periods! Which it's generally connected to anyways, so that makes sense. (Although actually I think average age for first period might be slightly younger. Not sure.)
ext_15284: a wreath of lightning against a dark, stormy sky (Default)

[identity profile] stormwreath.livejournal.com 2009-07-23 08:35 pm (UTC)(link)
I''ve pretty much taken for granted that the earliest date a Slayer can be called is when she gets her first period, and the latest date - rather more vague - is when she stops growing and achieves full adult physical development, which I understand is usually late teens for women.

It's also possible that a Slayer who reaches menopause would lose her Slayer powers, but I doubt that any ever survived long enough to find out. :-(
next_to_normal: (Default)

[personal profile] next_to_normal 2009-07-23 01:31 am (UTC)(link)
When was it said that Kennedy was 19? I mean, other than she'd have to be over 18 for her relationship with Willow to not be inappropriate, which I doubt was a consideration for ME.
deird1: Fred looking pretty and thoughful (Default)

[personal profile] deird1 2009-07-23 01:34 am (UTC)(link)
It was in the script, but didn't make it on-screen...
rahirah: (Default)

[personal profile] rahirah 2009-07-23 02:40 am (UTC)(link)
Kennedy was 19 when Willow did the activation spell, IIRC, and mentioned at some point that she thought she was getting too old to be called.

[identity profile] gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com 2009-07-23 02:48 am (UTC)(link)
[livejournal.com profile] stormwreath did post that conversation above. Kennedy's actually contradicted by The First/Eve that it's "never too late".
rahirah: (Default)

[personal profile] rahirah 2009-07-23 01:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Though as the First is trying to stir up fear and unrest at this point, I don't know if we can take its statement at face value.

[identity profile] gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com 2009-07-23 04:51 pm (UTC)(link)
True. Though we can't take Kennedy's uncertain speculation that she may be too old as definitive either.
ext_15284: a wreath of lightning against a dark, stormy sky (kennedy)

[identity profile] stormwreath.livejournal.com 2009-07-23 08:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Not definitive, true, but it could be an informed guess based on Kennedy having read the records of previous Slayers and taking note of their ages when they were each Called. She's one of the Potentials who were taught from early childhood by a Watcher, like Kendra, after all.

(Frankly, I think even the Council operated more on guesswork than science when it came to finding Slayers)

[identity profile] gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com 2009-07-23 11:25 pm (UTC)(link)
True, but I'd think the fact that even Kennedy sounded unsure points to it being a more general belief than a hard and fast rule. Most likely, yeah, most Slayers are called younger. However, we don't have anything concrete to say that there hasn't been an occasional older Slayer called.