I really must try and find that film. It sounds like my sort of movie. Rather like the sort of fanfiction I seek out these days.
On the one hand, seeking evidence of a future for Buffy, and Spike... but on the other, full of trepidation for what 'future' actually means for these two. Do we really know the extent of Buffy's 'supernatural' gift? no Slayer has ever lived beyond Buffy's age (although Nikki looked well into her mid-twenties to me), not because they've died by natural means but because they've been killed by Demons. That leaves open the question of just what effect, if any, the Slayer superpowers have on the human recipient. If, as appears to have been conveyed by the First Slayer, Buffy's essence now has an element of demon within can we extrapolate from that a promise of immortality, longevity or enhanced recuperative/regenerative capabilities?
The romantic in me yearns for Buffy to discover that as her number of years grow, there is a clear disparity with the physical ageing process. Not purely because I'd like her and Spike to slay together and stay together for ever and ever, but moreso because I like the romanticism and inevitability of tales like Highlander. No matter what occurs, life will go on and the hero(ine) must learn to live with that, embrace it and, thrive and survive, doing the best they can in whatever manifestation they take. Whether she has Spike by her side, or whether she becomes, in name, a myth and chooses to live and operate in anonymity...
The other scenario of Buffy ageing, living a 'normal' human lifespan and having to deal with her diminishing capabilities as well as whatever relationships she has along the way, is another enticing future worthy of exploration. I've read a few fics based on that premise, all of which have been very ansty because they deal with The End of the Slayer. In the case of those I've read, that has also meant having an ageless Spike alongside of her, adding to the poigniancy. These sorts of stories inevitably deal with the impact age has on couples with broad age gaps and tend to lose sight of the impact of lost strength and power on the aged. I often choose to avoid stories that explore this scenario because there's an inevitability in the conclusion. A finality that I want to avoid/deny. This could possibly be addressed by having a different slant, maybe by having the ageing Slayer handing over her burden/gift(?) at the end of her life to her successor. I've seen this touched on, but it's always been Buffy handing over her gift/burden and Spike to her successor and personally, I find that unacceptable/unpalateable. I've also found it harder to accept when the writers had the successor be Dawn. That's just too close to incestuous to me, and I'd expect Buffy to be elderly anyways and her successor to be a young and eager and totally new Slayer. The expectation that someone who has lived with and loved their partner for so many years would not, IMO, expect him/her to transfer their love and/or dedication to another and if they loved him/her so much would never ask that of them anyway.
At least with the hope of immortality or longevity there's a spectre of potential continuity.
I don't know if you've read Somniloquy by Ginmar, but in that Buffy and Spike discuss her mortality and Buffy tells Spike she wants him in Heaven with her or she'll refuse to go there. There's no denying they're going to be parted for a time because of their lifespan differences, but they explore, or at least Buffy explores, solutions that are acceptable. That, to me, was a beautifully written exploration of seperation because of death... which is a drift away from your point of ageing, I apologise.
In answer, eventually, to your question of whether the slayer should age... of course I think she should. Ideally as an immortal... and I'm off to read Isabelle's 'Hundred Years...' again... *sighs whistfully*
Great thoughts Chani. Love how you stimulate my mind. HUGS
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branchandroot
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Date: 2005-12-27 11:07 pm (UTC)On the one hand, seeking evidence of a future for Buffy, and Spike... but on the other, full of trepidation for what 'future' actually means for these two. Do we really know the extent of Buffy's 'supernatural' gift? no Slayer has ever lived beyond Buffy's age (although Nikki looked well into her mid-twenties to me), not because they've died by natural means but because they've been killed by Demons. That leaves open the question of just what effect, if any, the Slayer superpowers have on the human recipient. If, as appears to have been conveyed by the First Slayer, Buffy's essence now has an element of demon within can we extrapolate from that a promise of immortality, longevity or enhanced recuperative/regenerative capabilities?
The romantic in me yearns for Buffy to discover that as her number of years grow, there is a clear disparity with the physical ageing process. Not purely because I'd like her and Spike to slay together and stay together for ever and ever, but moreso because I like the romanticism and inevitability of tales like Highlander. No matter what occurs, life will go on and the hero(ine) must learn to live with that, embrace it and, thrive and survive, doing the best they can in whatever manifestation they take. Whether she has Spike by her side, or whether she becomes, in name, a myth and chooses to live and operate in anonymity...
The other scenario of Buffy ageing, living a 'normal' human lifespan and having to deal with her diminishing capabilities as well as whatever relationships she has along the way, is another enticing future worthy of exploration. I've read a few fics based on that premise, all of which have been very ansty because they deal with The End of the Slayer. In the case of those I've read, that has also meant having an ageless Spike alongside of her, adding to the poigniancy. These sorts of stories inevitably deal with the impact age has on couples with broad age gaps and tend to lose sight of the impact of lost strength and power on the aged. I often choose to avoid stories that explore this scenario because there's an inevitability in the conclusion. A finality that I want to avoid/deny. This could possibly be addressed by having a different slant, maybe by having the ageing Slayer handing over her burden/gift(?) at the end of her life to her successor. I've seen this touched on, but it's always been Buffy handing over her gift/burden and Spike to her successor and personally, I find that unacceptable/unpalateable. I've also found it harder to accept when the writers had the successor be Dawn. That's just too close to incestuous to me, and I'd expect Buffy to be elderly anyways and her successor to be a young and eager and totally new Slayer. The expectation that someone who has lived with and loved their partner for so many years would not, IMO, expect him/her to transfer their love and/or dedication to another and if they loved him/her so much would never ask that of them anyway.
At least with the hope of immortality or longevity there's a spectre of potential continuity.
I don't know if you've read Somniloquy by Ginmar, but in that Buffy and Spike discuss her mortality and Buffy tells Spike she wants him in Heaven with her or she'll refuse to go there. There's no denying they're going to be parted for a time because of their lifespan differences, but they explore, or at least Buffy explores, solutions that are acceptable. That, to me, was a beautifully written exploration of seperation because of death... which is a drift away from your point of ageing, I apologise.
In answer, eventually, to your question of whether the slayer should age... of course I think she should. Ideally as an immortal... and I'm off to read Isabelle's 'Hundred Years...' again... *sighs whistfully*
Great thoughts Chani. Love how you stimulate my mind. HUGS