Character Ages

[deird_lj]

Okay, lavastar, you've got me interested now...

A two-question poll for everyone:

[Poll #1433659]



Questions? Comments?

Comments

[gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com]

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]

it's unlikely she survived more than a few years as a Slayer

Why, particularly?

[gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com]

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]

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.

[gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com]

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]

...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.

[gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com]

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.

[stormwreath.livejournal.com]

The old (pre-S8) comics do mention a Japanese Slayer who was turned a couple of hundred years ago; the Council hushed it up as a big scandal and struck her name from the records. Lots of angst because Buffy met her and Giles refused to explain who she was, but it turned out that Spike knew her from the old days (she was turned by the Master, in fact).

So according to a deuterocanonical source at least, turning Slayers is possible, but very, very rare.

[next_to_normal]

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.

[gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com]

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]

Well, yeah, but if we only debated things that had a definite answer, we'd get bored pretty quickly. :)

[gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com]

But then we'd all agree! And fandom would be in harmony!

Not "in Harmony" cause that would be weird.

[lavastar.livejournal.com]

Not "in Harmony" cause that would be weird.

Thanks A LOT for the bad brain pictures.