So, Dawn now appears in Buffy's memories, much like Cloud Strife remembers meeting Tifa Lockheart on that one night before he went off to join SOLDIER. How?

My guess is that Dawn dosen't appear in most of Buffy's memories, she just assumes she was there. If the Question, What was she wearing, what did she say, why was she there, was brought up, there could be no answer. Same thing with Joyce's memories, sort of like a dream, you don't question it. Hank's opinions are unknown, of course. Dawn herself proberly has memory gaps, but let's face it, who really is trying to verify their past. I would assume the monks took care of this by having her live with her father

I can't imagene Dawn having anything resembling an impact during the first two seasons, other than in Ted. Elsewhere, she would have only been in fourth grade. Season 3 is where the problem starts. If Buffy ran away, then Dawn should have been there, and Joyce would had been less of a wreck. After Season three she would have been there, as well as season four, since she had some famility with the Scooby Gang, as well as Buffy not being home, during most of that season. Of course, I don't think Dawn's place in the Buffy timeline was very well thought out, or was meant to, considering the reality altering magic. However, you think if Buffy could figure out Jonathen's reality, then someone should have figured out Dawn, as she did seem to be a large annoyance during the fifth season.

The difference between Jonathan and Dawn is that Jonathan changed reality when Buffy was 19 and had spent years being the Slayer and dealing with the world. I think that would have reinforced her ties to the original reality, even if consciously she couldn't have known what was going on. Plus, Jonathan screwed up some by using a spell that left a mark that could be traced.

Dawn, on the other hand, was created when Buffy was five or six years old. There is *no bloody way* that a child that young, even Buffy, would be able to somehow tell that the world was being altered. She didn't have that strong a tie to reality yet. Plus, I get the feeling that those monks were much better mages than Jonathan is, and could probably do a far better job with regard to consistency in the world they created.

Matthew Patterson --

How do you come to the conclusion that Dawn was created when Buffy was five or six? I believe that the way it was portrayed on the show, Dawn was a recent creation ("Those monks put grades K through eight in my [Dawn's] head. Can't we just wait and see if they drop nine in there too?"). I would grant that the monks were far greater sorcerers than Jonathan, so their spell would be far more complete and believable

Did the spell change reality? Or did it change people's memories of reality?

For example, if you were to look in the back of Dawn's closet, wouldn't you see clothes waht were around for several years? Isn't there physical proof that Dawn was around for years and year? Ex. school records, hospital records, etc?

That being said, I think the only way to explain Dawn is that while she was created a year or so ago, the spell made her creatio nretroactive - and she actually HAS been on this planet 15 years.

Is there any other way to explain it?

We've seen that there are photographs of her around that presumably predate her first appearance in the show. This would seem to hint that her creation is at least somewhat retroactive.

No, it just indicates that the photos were magically retouched. I think that the difference between Jonathan's spell and the monks' is that Jonathan's spell changed reality, in effect creating an alternate universe with its own history, which then replaced the real world. The monks' spell was relatively easier: just creating documentation and other evidence of Dawn's prior life and creating false memories in anyone who might reasonably be expected to interact with her. If Hank had already severed his ties with Buffy, he might be unaware that he has another daughter.

If Hank had already severed his ties with Buffy, he might be unaware that he has another daughter.

Couldn't possibly be. I guarantee you that Joyce Summers did *not* go through a divorce without ensuring a fat child support payment every month.

Point taken.

Jonathen's spell did not alter reality, it altered everyone's perception of him. Except Adam, who knew what was up. Cordie's wish altered reality a bit more, but other than a hiccup in the time, was held in place by Anya's necklace.

So, do Angel, Wesley, and Codie remember Dawn? Dawn remembers Angel.

More than likely. This is a very powerful spell, although I can't imagene Westley had much contact with Dawn. Dawn to me is like the special effects in Star Wars: Special Edition. Her existance until Season 5, would have to be marginal. Think if Dawn could really fit into Buffy running away from home.

Nothing says it has to have happened the same way we saw it. Actually, this is a pretty good explanation for any continuity errors from season 5 onward.

It "happened" the way we saw it. How it is remembered is another story. I go with "Sepiroth's dissertation on Cloud, Jenova and why Tifa remembers him."

You want to explain that, for those of us who *don't* have any particular desire to go and play through FFVII?

Actually, Matthew Patterson, Blood Ties establishes that Dawn has only "existed" for six months (id est, she was created by the monks six months before that episode).

It may just be semantics, though, since everyone remembers her existing before the 6 months cutoff -- but physically Dawn did not exist until recently.

I've given this a little more thought

There were four major "reality changes" in the Buffyverse

1) Cordelia's wish to Skip and TPTB (Angel: "Birthday"): History was changed and Cordie's life turned out differntly. The new reality replaced the old (almost) entirely, and was in turn replaced entirely when Cordie and Skip came up with a variation of the original reality that would allow her to live. That there was only one of these realities in existance at any one time is illustrated by the fact that although the Wes and Gunn of the third reality had no knowlege of it, the demon that their second-reality counterparts vanquished remained vanquished.

There were two known "holes" in the completeness of the replacement: Cordie had flashes of memories of her "other" life, and the message written on the wall in Angel's bedroom in the Hyperion.

2) Cordelia's wish to Anyanka (BTVS: "The Gift"): Although it seemed as though a new reality replaced the old, as in the previous example, the truth is a little more comlicated. Apparently a parallel world was created (as seen in "Dopplegangland") and Cordie replaced her counterpart in that world. Except that she was killed in that world, so how could she have survived to return to the main world?

3) Jonathan's spell (BTVS: "Superstar"): I've decided that Pesti is mostly right. The main focus of that spell was to alter everyone's perception of Jonathan. However to accomplish this goal it was necessary back it up both physically and in people's memories. There are two ways this could have been accomplished, either change reality as in the two spells involving Cordelia, or simply manufacture false memories and physical evidence. The prescence of the counterbalancing monster, in my opinion, argues for the former. But Jonathan'sb magic is weaker than Skip's or Anya's so the best it could manage was a veneer over the original reality. Adam could see through the veneer to the original reality despite the posters all over town, and the pictures on his monitors, which he saw just like everyone else

4) The Creation of Dawn. Again, I feel that this is not really a case of reality-altering, but just a bit of magical forgery and memory manipulation. That might be why it is the only permanant one.

SPOILER

Cloud Claims that he was a former SOILDER First class, he left Shinra and became a mercenary. Tifa, his childhood crush remembers this as well.

Sephiroth claims that Cloud is a clone of Sephiroth, and the Jenova Cells within him read into Tifa's mind when she found him on the streets, and made her think that he was Cloud Strife, a boy she knew in childhood.

In reality, Cloud and another young man in soldier left Sephiroth mostly dead after he went psycho. Cloud was a generic solider at the time. Cloud was subjected to several experiments, and did have Jenova cells in him, but was friends with Tifa. In any case, this is really complicated. Basically, Dawn was able to fit into Buffy's already existing memories. Think of inserting a white cat into your memories.

Buffy has shown that changing people's memories isn't that hard, Band Candy for example.

"Dopplegangland": This is one of the hardest to explain, because it also involves time travel. However, since magic is metaphysical, timelines don't work the same way as in everywhere else. This wasn't an alternate reality story, as Angel fully expected Buffy to come.

Buffy has shown that changing people's memories isn't that hard, Band Candy for example. Pesti

As was recently discussed in the board for The Prom, the very prescence of the hellmouth may affect peoples' perceptions and memories. It may actually be harder keep things straight than to go with any reasonable suggestion. Principal Snyder had a standard explanation for anything that affected the whole school (School Hard) and the parents of SunnyDale "[did] that selective memory thing your mom used to be so good at," to quote Willow (Gingerbread).

Gingerbread had a variety of mind control not seen as in Band Candy, where everyone remembers what happened, but still forgot they were adults.

Exposure to the supernatural seems to cause the human mind to surpress and rationalize it, rather than the effects of the Hellmouth. Heck, Angel has Demons hanging out all over LA, and no one seems to notice. These creatures have to be secretive as well, and they usually are. The Mayor and his office also seem to have been covering up the whole event. Of course, how the State ever placed a UC there without noticing the weird stuff happening there.

My take was that Dawn didn't exist in any form, either originally or retroactively, until the monks created her. That is, if the Slayerettes were to travel back in time to 1998 or so, they wouldn't arrive in a past that was unlike the one we saw on TV and had Dawn in it.
Dawn, I think, was created around the start of Season Five, as were created a bunch of memories, falsehoods, magically doctored photos, some paperwork, and so on. It would be a big job, but this wasn't something they were being shabby about. Any 'official' things would soon have their gaps filled. Any missing paperwork the monks didn't manage would likely be replaced somehow, rather than someoen finding an erroneous piece of bureaucracy and declaring, 'Guess this person is a magical construct. No benefits for her.'

Would all of Buffy's family have their memories affected by the creation of Dawn as well or just Buffy and her mom?For example would Buffy's dad,who does not live in Sunnydale suddenly remember that he has TWO daugthers?Or would he wonder a bit who the heck Dawn was when Buffy and Dawn send him a card for Father's Day?

Well, in Angel 4.13, he certainly knew who Dawn was and he'd well and truly left the picture. (And the fact that he remembers as he does suggests that it's not a similar effect to the phenomena/spell/removal of knowledge in Angel Season Four.)

One theory I have is that perhaps the memories weren't totally false.
Perhaps the monks in creating Dawn were able to also tap into an alternate reality where Dawn
DID exist as Buffy's younger sister.
Perhaps it was those memories that were "borrowed" when Dawn was created.
In any case Buffy and Dawn certainly acted like genuine sisters the minute we first see Dawn!