Way to breathe, no breath.

[urnofosiris]

I have no idea if this has come up before on this forum or not, but I really want to mention it.

It is really put upon during the whole series, that vampires do not have breath. Am I right? Yes.

I do not understand how they are able to smoke cigarettes.
I ALSO do not understand how, in season 7, The First attempts to drown Spike when they are down in the caves.

How would that work? He has no breathe. He can't drown..

Silly.
But, still. Is there anyone that knows anything? Or if there's a particular reason for these flaws?

Other than that, I love Buffy. But this topic really gets to me.

[Just Willow]

i say that vampires can move air. They can suck air in and push it out, but they just don't do it on reflex, like we do. They can smoke, or blow out candles, but they don't breathe regularly unless they force themselves to.

i think about this stuff because i can't stand that the Buffyverse isn't perfect, so i try to come up with loopholes for everything, to make it fit.

as for the drowning bit, i don't think it's effective in killing them, but due to pressure, water would be forced into his empty lungs, which would be an unpleasant feeling, if not fatal.

[urnofosiris]

Hah, there are so many random things that really get to me, but this is the one that makes me really stressed.
Your 'suck air in and push air out' thing makes sense.
(:

[snizapman6294]

i feel like their bodies do it whether they want it to or not. to make myself feel better when vamps start hyper-ventilating when i know they can't, is that their body's breathe due to an instinctual response from their human days... as i say, other than appearance, simple biological urges: sex, food (in this case, blood. but mind you the same applies), and breathing are the only traces left of humanity in a vampire.

[urnofosiris]

The thing is, it's mentioned - on many occasions - that they can't breathe.
Like, in Prophecy Girl - Xander needs to perform CPR to Buffy because Angel doesn't have 'breath'.

[CowboyGuy]

Exactly, we've kinda fanwanked that vampires cannot breathe. They can use their lungs but do not require it, therefore they have no breath. I mean if the heart works, as well as other organs why would the lungs be any different? Angel (as all vampires) does not have life-giving capabilities that we humans do, his breath cannot revive anyone.

[snizapman6294]

so, CBG, are you saying that they don't breathe/other stuff only when they it gives or saves a life?

[ptnewell]

The claim Angel makes in Prophecy Girl (that Xander must revive Buffy because he has no breath) is a big moment in the first season. Unfortunately, it is utterly indefensible.

First, although classical CPR has two parts (pushing on the chest rhythmically and blowing air into the lung), the second part turns out probably not to help, and is no longer recommended. The really important thing is to get the heart going again by pushing on the chest.

Second, vampires talk. That means they blow air through their vocal cords, creating disturbances in the air which others can interpret as words. If you can talk, you have breath.

Third, Spike smokes, Angel blew out a candle (early AtS S2), etc. The claim that vampires don't have breath is flat out wrong. I believe we only hear it that one time and never again on either series. It is clear vampires don't NEED air (Angel spent three months underwater between S3 and S4), so I am not sure what the First was doing to torture Spike in S7 (when shoving his face underwater). But overall, the series are pretty consistent that vampires can breath (talk, smoke, etc) but do not have to. (Rare errors happen: Spike choked Drusilla unconscious in Becoming Pt 2, e.g.)

Incidentally, when a human breathes out the air is slightly depleted of live-giving oxygen. So a vampire's breath would slightly more useful than a human's for breathing into lungs (if that actually helped, which it doesn't!).

Overall it is probably best to just assume Angel goofed on Prophecy Girl, and to imagine Xander was pushing on Buffy's chest (which would have been actually necessary to revive her).

[Skytteflickan88]

I think if they put their mind to it, they can inhale and exhale(I guess you can fanwank Propechy girl and say that Angel couldn't help because he didn't have a "regular" breath, and when giving mouth to mouth, it's good if you have a natural rythm, matching your own breath. Or maybe Angel just freaked.)

The water must have been holy water(wasn't there crosses floathing around too?)