hillest of the illdicoes (![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} hildico) wrote, |
Well, that goes without saying. There's a large variation on how old someone looks vs. how old they actually are, though. I prefer to use estimations based on a timeline rather than appearances.
This is probably TL;DR, but here's how I got to older!Lazard:
In the beginning of Crisis Core, Sephiroth is 23. The Wutai war has been going on for "a long time" according to Lazard--I'm pretty sure that the Ultimania Omega says that Sephiroth's involvement (ie, SOLDIER's involvement) in Wutai began when he was 15. If we assume that SOLDIER was created as a seperate Department (used to be part of the Science Dept) at or before that time, SOLDIER has been around for at least 8 years.
If we assume that Lazard has been the Director of SOLDIER since its inception, that means he has to be older than Sephiroth--at least seven to ten years older. Lazard is proud that he has (somewhat) made it up the ranks of Shin-Ra by his own prowess, even if he got up there quickly part because he is the illegitimate son, contrasted with Rufus, who did nothing to get to be the VP as far as we can tell. He maintains a reasonable doubt that there is nepotism involved in his Directorship, meaning he went to school, maybe some graduate work, and worked for Shin-Ra in some other capacity before becoming Director. Making him Director at 16 is just too much like Rufus, and it wouldn't fit with the sense of being simultaneously patronized and ignored by the President that we get from his e-mails. Also, if he sucked at his job/wasn't reasonably qualified, the SOLDIERs wouldn't like and trust him as much as they do in the game (totally blindsided and upset when he betrays them).
...That's based on two assumptions, though, so I understand that some fans prefer Lazard to be of age with the 1st Classes. I simply think it makes more sense to have him be at least ten years older, for purposes of having a reasonable timeline as well as fitting characterization. Personally, I put him as being 15 years older.
Remember, too, Sephiroth is ten years older than Cloud, and nobody seems to bat an eye at that age difference in this fandom! ;)
This is probably TL;DR, but here's how I got to older!Lazard:
In the beginning of Crisis Core, Sephiroth is 23. The Wutai war has been going on for "a long time" according to Lazard--I'm pretty sure that the Ultimania Omega says that Sephiroth's involvement (ie, SOLDIER's involvement) in Wutai began when he was 15. If we assume that SOLDIER was created as a seperate Department (used to be part of the Science Dept) at or before that time, SOLDIER has been around for at least 8 years.
If we assume that Lazard has been the Director of SOLDIER since its inception, that means he has to be older than Sephiroth--at least seven to ten years older. Lazard is proud that he has (somewhat) made it up the ranks of Shin-Ra by his own prowess, even if he got up there quickly part because he is the illegitimate son, contrasted with Rufus, who did nothing to get to be the VP as far as we can tell. He maintains a reasonable doubt that there is nepotism involved in his Directorship, meaning he went to school, maybe some graduate work, and worked for Shin-Ra in some other capacity before becoming Director. Making him Director at 16 is just too much like Rufus, and it wouldn't fit with the sense of being simultaneously patronized and ignored by the President that we get from his e-mails. Also, if he sucked at his job/wasn't reasonably qualified, the SOLDIERs wouldn't like and trust him as much as they do in the game (totally blindsided and upset when he betrays them).
...That's based on two assumptions, though, so I understand that some fans prefer Lazard to be of age with the 1st Classes. I simply think it makes more sense to have him be at least ten years older, for purposes of having a reasonable timeline as well as fitting characterization. Personally, I put him as being 15 years older.
Remember, too, Sephiroth is ten years older than Cloud, and nobody seems to bat an eye at that age difference in this fandom! ;)