Chosen, and then? Sketching out the post-finale Buffyverse

[selenak]

Blame the fact X2, the Buffy finale and talking about Alan Moore came shortly after another, and add the rewatching of Farscape and Babylon 5 (i.e. shows designed to encourage your paranoia), and a couple of remarks by friends: I came up with the following speculation about the post-"Chosen" Buffyverse:


As thran (I think) pointed out, the new Slayers (plus Buffy and Faith) might soon be in a similar position to the X-Men mutants. A minority with superpowers. And character-wise, they'll probably cover the whole spectrum. Now, I imagine Buffy & Co. will try to find the others - perhaps via Willow and the British Coven - and give them the essential knowledge of what they are. I don't think she'll try to organize them - one point of the finale was that now, Slayers can have a normal life, the isolation away from their families/friends/background is not necessary anymore. But she'll feel some explanation might be in order, and that the girls should have a chance to contact Giles/her/anyone to get some training IF they so chose.
What I don't think she'll do is contact Riley and try to find the rest of the former potentials through the not-quite-Initiative. She may trust Riley personally, but I don't see Buffy entrusting any organization, let alone a government organization, with these girls. (Plus Xander and Andrew at least must have watched "La Femme Nikita".)
However: can it be long before the post-Initiative finds out about the sudden rise of superstrong female teens? In countries such as India or, say, Saudi Arabia, this would be even more noticeable because of the status of women. But given the present climate in the US and other Western countries as well, how long can the new Slayers remain hidden?
In an earlier entry, I mentioned "Watchmen" by Alan Moore, and his idea of how the real world would handle superheroes. (And how they would handle the real world.) Moore may have a decidedly dark view of human nature, but I don't think he's off the mark there. So, after some years of blessed anonymity and freedom, I see three possibilities for the Slayers:
- agree to work for the government of whatever country they live in as "special operatives"; this would amount to a privileged but highly controlled life in the golden cage
- go into hiding, live either in retirement (i.e. trying not to use their powers as not to draw attention to themselves) or live as vigilantes (i.e. use their powers the traditional Slayer way, to fight vampires and demons)
- becoming freedom fighters/terrorists depending on your definition - in any case, be prepared to use their powers actively and in a damaging to lethal way against the government of their respective countries.
This looks like a fascinating premise to me, for a series which I, alas, can't write. One could either use new characters or mix new and old ones. I asked a friend of mine what way she thought the existing Slayers would choose, and she suggested Kennedy would agree to work for the government, Buffy would go into hiding, Rona would go the freedom fighter/terrorist route, and that a case could be made for Faith choosing all of the above. (I.e. Faith might agree to work for the government in return for a pardon and a promise she wouldn't have to go to prison again, but I can't see this lasting very long, or she could go into hiding, or she could go the third route.)
Any additional ideas?

Comments

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

(got here from kimberly_a's journal)

Oh, heck, large chunks of the Third World are in for a shock . . .

"Hmm. That woman was raped. Which means that she had premarital sex. So we decided to stone her to death. But after four or five hours of being beaten with stones, she got upset and left. So now we have to find her and burn her at the stake as a witch, but she's not cooperating. . . "

Absolutely

[selenak.livejournal.com]

And if you think about it, that's probably what happened to the very early Slayers when they were called, their society being similar...