Characters' Development
Dawn's character's development was written by Chrisie

Buffy Summers

Buffy: Oh, why can't you people just leave me alone?
Giles: Because you are the Slayer. Into each generation a Slayer is born, one girl in all the world, a Chosen One, one born with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires...
- BtVS 1x01, "Welcome to the Hellmouth"

Buffy has come to Sunnydale seven years ago to enact as the current active Slayer, hoping she could escape her destiny (little did she know that moving to the Hellmouth wasn't the way to do that). In the first years she'd been trying so hard to be just Buffy – Buffy Summers, the high school girl, maybe a cheerleader, a bunch of friends, shopping in the mall, the perfect tall-dark-and-handsome boyfriend. But that wasn't going to happen, because she was the Slayer, she wasn't and never would be normal. And only when she met Kendra – the Slayer that was activated after her death by the Master, did she realize just how lucky she was, and since then, she really began to blend – to accept her calling and to get the best of both worlds, which she very well could. But Buffy was a young girl that had to grow up way too fast, she tried to be a regular girl as much as she could, but the responsibility on her shoulders was sometimes too much to bear, especially when demons weren't always supernatural. She caused the man she loved to lose his soul by giving him perfect happiness and sent him to thousands of years in hell, she lost her mother to cancer and became guardian over her sister that wasn't really her sister, she lost friends, and she died twice, and she had to avert apocalypses and save the world on nightly basis. How many people can say that about themselves before they reach 25? And then, seven years into the future, she took that power, that made her so unique, probably the strongest and longest living Slayer in history, and she gave it away. Not because she wanted to get rid of it – she didn't, by that time, she'd completely accepted her calling, she was the Slayer and she knew it, but because it was the right thing to do. They were facing the greatest enemy of all – the First Evil – and if they wanted to win, that sacrifice had to be made. And after she made it, she realized she did the right thing for her as a person as well. After years of fighting her Slayer personality with the human in her, for once, they really blended and she was Buffy – the Vampire Slayer, not one thing or the other, but both. And she wasn't alone anymore, the burden wasn't only on her, she became one of many. She would always be remembered, no need to worry about that, but she was free now – free to live her life, free to make choices – free to do anything and everything she ever wanted, with nothing to hold her back.

Willow: What do you think we should do, Buffy?
Faith: Yeah, you're not the one and only Chosen anymore. Just gotta live like a person. How's that feel?
- BtVS 7x22, "Chosen"

Xander Harris

Xander: Can I have you? Ah- Can I help you?
Buffy: Thanks.
Xander: I don't know you, do I?
Buffy: I'm Buffy. I'm new.
- BtVS 1x01, "Welcome to the Hellmouth"

The first time Xander laid his eyes on Buffy seven years ago, he fell for her. Though he was ready to enact as a best friend and nothing more, he still wanted more. He hated Angel with a blinding passion, not only because he was a vampire, but first and foremost because Buffy was in love with him, and he took steps no best friend would take, that almost cost Angel's life, he lied to Buffy and she ended up sending him to hell. But we all did stupid things in high school, and what young boys did in the so-called name of love is better to remain unsaid, and Xander was jealous enough to take a part in it. It took him years to understand his position in her life was that of a big brother and to accept it, but he did, and was the best at it, and he never failed. There was nothing extraordinary about Xander, no superpowers, no nothing, he was just Xander - always ready to deliver the comic relief when things looked grim, always ready to fight to the death when needed. Xander was the heart – he kept the group tight together like no one else did, Xander was the strongest of them all. From a young boy of a broken home and an abusive father, he grew into a man who outdid his father in everything, but remained just as strong in character and as reliable as he was at 16. Xander ended up the seven-years-span without an eye – he lost it in battle. A small price to pay, considering he'd been fighting next to the Slayer for seven years and suffered nothing so far. But there was a reason why he was the one to suffer, because even the First realized how important to the group and the fight Xander was – he was the glue, the real strength. And yet, nothing could keep a good Xander down, as he continued telling jokes and enjoying whatever life had to offer nevertheless. Even when he lost the woman he loved, he understood he would have done exactly the same, he, too, would die for another person to save their life, no matter who that person was, and he was proud of Anya and the way she went. But Xander was still here, no matter how much he took, how much life threw at him, he was still standing, just as strong, supporting both Buffy and Willow so long as they were there.

Dawn: We destroyed the mall? I fought on the wrong side.
Xander: All those shops gone. The Gap, Starbucks, Toys "R" Us. Who will remember all those landmarks unless we tell the world about them?
- BtVS 7x22, "Chosen"

Willow Rosenberg

Buffy: Hi! Willow, right?
Willow: Why? I-I mean, hi! Uh, did you want me to move?
- BtVS 1x01, "Welcome to the Hellmouth"

From the shiest girl in high school, to full-fledged Wicca, Willow has come a long way. Until she met Buffy, she was plain nobody, the smartest girl in school, a computer genius, but nobody anyone would look her twice, or for that matter, at all, unless they needed to use her for something. But Buffy did see the potential in her, the person that she was, Buffy brought her out – who knows where Willow would have been today if it hadn't been for Buffy. She stopped hiding how smart and intelligent she really was and be ashamed of it, she stopped shying away from boys and wound up falling in love with a werewolf. She made her first really important decision regarding her future when she decided to drop all the fancy schools that offered to take her in and stay with Buffy in UC Sunnydale to continue fighting evil. Several months into college, she fell in love with a woman, Tara, something the old Willow wouldn't even consider as an option, and became even more open and confident regarding her personality. And a couple of years later, the girl who wouldn't be able to harm a fly once, killed a man – flayed him alive, because he had killed her lover – a result of a mixture between her severe addiction to dark magic and her tragic loss. She almost ended the world, but the love of her best friend, Xander, was enough to stop her. And now Willow took magic upon herself once again, when she used the scythe to divide the Slayer energy between all the potentials at Buffy's request. Willow stood by her best friend's side at the final battle just as she did in the first, and she stood by her side to watch their victory, and her own victory over her fears (inability to handle magic) and insecurities. And she found a new love after she had thought she had closed her heart for good. She now fully became a strong woman, a powerful Wicca, but still remained the same loyal best friend.

Buffy: In every generation, one Slayer is born, because a bunch of men who died thousands of years ago made up that rule. They were powerful men. This woman is more powerful than all of them combined.
- BtVS 7x22, "Chosen"

Rupert Giles

Buffy: Hey, I know! Why don't you kill them?
Giles: I-I'm a Watcher, I-I haven't the skill...
Buffy: Oh, come on, stake through the heart, a little sunlight... It's like falling off a log.
Giles: A, a Slayer slays, a Watcher-
Buffy: Watches?
- BtVS 1x01, "Welcome to the Hellmouth"

Giles came to Sunnydale to meet Buffy, the current Slayer, and enact as her Watcher. In the beginning, he found her impossible to handle as she was everything a Slayer was not, but as time went by, the two of them found themselves bound in friendship that was possibly stronger than any father / daughter relationship. Each of them contributed to the development of the other both as a person and as a fighter, both of them gave each other what they had missing, Giles made her a better Slayer, while Buffy reacquainted him with the person he was. But Giles wasn't only a Watcher for Buffy, he was her father as well in every way that counted, and he probably was a much better father to Willow and Xander than their real fathers were. These kids became his family, and gradually, he became to realize that he didn't miss out on life because of being a Watcher as he'd thought he did, he had a life, he had a family, as close as families get. But then Giles realized that maybe it was too close, maybe his presence in Sunnydale was standing in the way of Buffy's growth as a woman, maybe he had to leave in order to make her stop relying on him so much, and let her become her own person. And as painful a step as it was, Giles took it, he returned to England, leaving Buffy all by herself behind. He was still stated as her Watcher by the Council, but they were never acting upon what the Council had in mind. Giles did what a father would do, not a Watcher – she had to learn to live her own life, and he had to leave to allow that to happen. And when he started to come back with the potential Slayers, he found Buffy exactly the Buffy he'd left her to become. And she didn't need him as her Watcher at all now, she was as capable by herself as she could ever be with him around – he had taught her everything she needed to know. She wasn't following his lead anymore - he was following hers. Buffy led the last battle, Buffy took them out into the fight and Buffy won, and he had no part in it except being proud of what she'd become.

Giles: Buffy, what you said, i-it flies in the face of everything we've ever- every generation has ever done in the fight against evil. I think it's bloody brilliant.
Buffy: You mean that?
Giles: If you want my opinion.
Buffy: I really do.
- BtVS 7x22, "Chosen"

Anya Emerson

Anya: You know, you can laugh, but I have witnessed a millenium of treachery and oppression from the males of the species and I have nothing but contempt for the whole libidinous lot of them.
Xander: Then why you talking to me?
Anya: I don't have a date for the prom.
- BtVS 3x20, "The Prom"

From vengeance demon to human, that's one long way to go, even for Anya. It was all, Xander's fault – he was unfaithful to Cordelia, Anya tried to help her and Giles destroyed her power source and as a result, she got stuck on earth as a human being, a girl, and she was flunking math! Could life be anymore horrible? Apparently yes, because shortly after, Anya found herself drawn repeatedly to the very reason to her eternal suffering – that being Xander Harris. The beautiful ever-tactless, always horny Anya decided she wanted a boyfriend and Xander wasn't all too hesitant to enact in that capacity. Although in her first couple of years on earth, Anya was all too busy covering all the mysteries of Kama Sutra with Xander, reviving the Capitalism into the 21st century, and caring about no one but herself, inside she was as tender and innocent as a child. On the first apocalypse, Anya fled Sunnydale and expected Xander to come with her, coming out all too surprised when he refused to leave on account he had to be with his friends. She honestly didn't understand the meaning of friendship, of love and devotion – but it didn't take her long. The relationship with Xander and being a part of the group softened her, made her more human. On the second apocalypse, not only Anya didn't run, she stayed because she loved Xander, and because she honestly wanted to help. Even after Xander had left her at the altar, she couldn't hate him, and when she received her powers back and became a vengeance demon, she was willing to give her own life in exchange for the ones she took, she no longer wanted these powers – she gave them back. Anya was a human now – after over a thousand years – one of those humans she used to despise. And the last thing she did was fight with these humans, fight for them, die for them.

Xander: Did you see what happened? I mean, was she-
Andrew: She was incredible. She died saving my life.
Xander: That's my girl. Always doing the stupid thing.
- BtVS 7x22, "Chosen"

Spike

Spike: So. Who do you kill for fun around here?
Collin: Who are you?
Spike: Spike. You're that Anointed guy. I read about you. You've got Slayer problems. That's a bad piece of luck. Do you know what I find works real good with Slayers? Killing them.
- BtVS 2x03, "School Hard"

When Spike first came to Sunnydale six years ago, all he wanted was to kill the Slayer, that being Buffy. Except Buffy wasn't the ordinary Slayer, was she? What's with all these friends and mom and a vampire lover – not any vampire, but his own Grandsire, Angelus, how's that for perversion? Poor Spike. And that Buffy, she just wouldn't get killed. So eventually, he gave up, even left Sunnydale (not that Spike could ever be trusted for his word, as was proven later) and took Dru with him. Except that Dru left him – she left him because he couldn't get the Slayer out of his system, Buffy's become an obsession of him. So this time – alone – Spike returned to Sunnydale, where his poor luck caught up with him once more and he got zapped by the Initiative and had a chip implanted into him that prevented him from harming human beings. Now he needed the Slayer and her friends, but for a completely different reason – he needed their help. Spike couldn't hunt, couldn't feed, couldn't so much as thing malicious thoughts regarding a human. And then, his obsession took a different turn. He wanted Buffy, not in the sense a vampire wants a Slayer, but in the sense a man wants a woman. He even had Warren build him a Buffysexbot because the real thing wouldn't so much as look at him. But Spike found himself really caring about the Slayer, he had a genuine weakness for her and it wasn’t only sexual. He found himself putting his own life on the line for her and those she held dear. Finally, in the darkest time of her life, Buffy allowed her barriers to fall and Spike jumped on the opportunity. To call their relationship from that point healthy would be laughable, especially as she never not only repaid his feelings, but she saw in him nothing more than a dark attempt to escape. Finally, he got fed up with the way things were going and did what only Spike would do – went to get himself a soul so he'd be worthy of her. But a soul wasn't enough to fill the shoes that were called Angel he was trying so hard to fill, and coming the big battle, Spike realized that once and for all. No matter how close he and Buffy had come, and no matter how much she' come to care for him since he returned with a soul, he wasn't the man she truly loved and to give him the credit – he realized that before it was too late. So Spike went down as a hero, he died for the good fight, for the love of a woman, but he also died knowing the woman didn't love him back. He knew exactly his place, he wasn't crazy or delusional or a lovesick puppy. He was a strong man who did the right thing, except this time – all cards were on the table.

Buffy: I love you.
Spike: No, you don't. But thanks for saying it.
- BtVS 7x22, "Chosen"

Dawn Summers

Buffy: Don't. Break. Anything. Just don't touch anything.
Dawn: Not that Buffy's really changed at all. Like she ever would.
Buffy: What you're doing right now, not moving? Good. Keep doing that.
Dawn: She still thinks I'm Little Miss Nobody, just her dumb little sister. Boy, is she in for a surprise.
- BtVS 5x02, "Real Me"

Dawn Summers was your typical fourteen year old girl. She kept a diary full of complaints about her sister, got a crush on her sister's best friend Xander and complained about how her mother and her sister thought she needed a babysitter. She hated being thought of as the Slayers 'dumb little sister', 'little miss nobody.' She just couldn't wait until they saw the 'real me' then boy would they be surprised. Little did she know just how right she was and that her whole world was about to change. She obsessed, just like every teenager, in search of herself and was freaked to discover she's not a little girl, she's not even human, but a mystical Key hidden in the form of Buffy's little sister. Her entire life had been a lie, made up memories. Just when Dawn seemed to be adjusting to this news and starting to get back to being the normal hormonal teen girl she had been who can't wait to be all grown up, her world is rocked again. See as much as any teen girl wants to be all grown up, they are never ready to stop being someone's child and her mother's sudden death rocked her world so much she even attempted to bring her back by using dark magic. A few months later she lost the only other family she has when her sister Buffy died to save her life, leaving Dawn alone in this world at the tender age of fourteen. Luckily, her sisters' best friend Willow brought her back. It was rough going at first and Dawn took to 'normal' teenage stuff like shop lifting and some not so normal stuff like unwittingly creating a spell to hold everyone in the house with her (since she couldn't stand the fact the everyone was leaving her) to get attention. But Dawn started growing up and Buffy was finally realizing that she couldn't continue to protect her from life and that she's old enough to stand by her side. She helped Buffy and the Scoobies defeat The First in the final battle. But just because she's old enough to stand by her sister's side doesn't mean she's ready to or wants to be alone. When the last bus left Sunnydale without her sister, Dawn watched out the back window to make sure Buffy has escaped the apocalypse, and later welcomed her back with the biggest and best sister hug.

Giles: Yes, because the mall was actually in Sunnydale, so there's no hope of going there tomorrow.
Dawn: We destroyed the mall? I fought on the wrong side.
- BtVS 7x22, "Chosen"

Faith

Faith: God, I could eat a horse. Isn't it crazy how slayin' just always makes you hungry and horny?
Buffy: Well... Sometimes I-I crave a nonfat yogurt afterwards.
- BtVS 3x03, "Faith, Hope and Trick"

Faith was the Slayer that came to replace Kendra after she'd died. Being a young girl, a high school dropout from a broken home, Faith didn't have much good going on in life, so when she received the calling, she didn't take it as seriously as she should have. Her Watcher died soon and Faith was on her way to Sunnydale to stir up trouble. With her tramp-style clothes and careless behavior, Faith was the opposite of Buffy, and the powers she had as the Slayer she used for fun. Her philosophy was want – take – have. She killed vampires and battled demons because she enjoyed it, she had no love, no friends, no Watcher, and Buffy did. She was jealous of Buffy's friends, she tried to take Angel from her, she was jealous of the attention Giles gave her. She's come to hate Buffy, up to the point when she openly stepped out of the camp and joined the bad guys on the opposite side. But surprisingly, Angel was the one who put an end to that – he straightened Faith up and returned her to the right path, he returned her faith in herself and helped her find the good inside. He took her under his wing and set her on the right path to redemption. Faith realized she had a lot of evil to atone for and turned herself in to the cops, submitting herself willingly to years in prison, and that's only the beginning. Nothing could make her escape her punishment except hearing from Wes that Angel was in trouble and needed her. She broke out and went to pay the vampire back at least a part of what she owed him – save his soul like he once saved hers. From there, Faith moved on to Sunnydale, where Buffy needed help to fight the First. And this time, Faith stepped aside and looked with admiration at the woman she'd once come to hate. Even when she was offered Buffy's position, she made it clear she was not interested, as it wasn't hers. Faith came to fight beside Buffy, not to take her place, and Buffy on her part, saw her as an equal, as sister.

Faith: Buffy!
Buffy: Hold the line.
- BtVS 7x22, "Chosen"

Angel

Buffy: Who are you?
Angel: Let's just say... I'm a friend.
Buffy: Yeah, well, maybe I don't want a friend.
Angel: I didn't say I was yours.
- BtVS 1x01, "Welcome to the Hellmouth"

Angel returned to Sunnydale for a brief surprise-visit to Buffy to bring her the amulet that would help her to overpower The First. Seven years ago, when that dark stranger first appeared in Sunnydale, he also gave Buffy a necklace – a cross, that maybe wasn't all that powerful, did eventually save her life (Luke). Since that first meeting, these two soulmates found each other and lost, and found again, and lost again, until Angel broke them up for good and left to LA to fulfill his own destiny. To exclude several visits, the two of them had had very little contact, until Angel returned again with the amulet. Both have grown differently into individuals and warriors, but what Angel found true once he came back was that the love and passion they felt for each other seemingly years ago – stayed the same. The way her eyes lit when she saw him, they hadn't lit in years. But Angel also discovered something else – Buffy and his nemesis Spike, were involved. And yet, this time, Angel was willing to stay, and not only to fight, but to be with Buffy, he was willing to put aside everything that made him leave the first time and reunite with the woman he loved, if she'd have him. Except she wouldn't, because she wasn't ready for the "one" yet, that being him, she still had to grow. The rejection turned Angel back into the shadows and he walked away from her as he did seven years ago, leaving the ball in her court. This time, Angel didn't settle for making the decision for both of them as he always did – he left it to her.

Buffy: Angel. I do... sometimes think that far ahead.
Angel: Sometimes is something.
Buffy: Be a long time coming. Years, if ever.
Angel: I ain't getting any older.
- BtVS 7x22, "Chosen"

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