How old is Juni?

I'm not sure I've ever really seen this discussed. But how old is Juni? If we take Nifflas' levels as canon then she's at least old enough to have a child. But at what age can knytts have children?

Personally I feel like she's the equivalent of a young adult human. So like early 20s or so. What do you think?

Juni is as old as she needs to be in that particular story.

The idea is that Juni once lived, and that the story you are playing is not something that happens today, but once happened, many many years ago.

Its the same as asking the age of, say... Rambo. Rambo was a movie character played by Silvester Stallone. He was in his 30's when he played that movie, but he obviously is not 30 now. So if you ask, how old is Rambo, the first question becomes, which movie? He had different ages in different movies, but its still a story. The age of his character was never revealed I think.

The same happens with Juni. Juni's age differs per story and when it is being given in the story as a clue or fact, only then we know for that story. Otherwise, we simply don't know.

I always considered the Mother Knytt in 'A Strange Dream' to be a separate person from Juni.

In terms of a Knytt's life expectancy, there are a few contradictory bits of evidence. Small, energetic mammals tend to live briefer lives than humans (a species' natural lifespan is roughly related to its heart rate; all mammals have roughly the same number of heartbeats in their lifetime, be they mouse or elephant - though humans have become an exception to this due to modern medicine. It probably takes a lot of energy and exertion to jump four times your own height). But sentience implies a longer lifespan (humans live about 20 years before reaching their full mental potential). And folkloric creatures tend to be very long lived (c.f. Tolkien's trolls, elves and dwarves, for example). So it's hard to know how to equate a knytt's lifespan to our own.

But as Chip said, Juni's stories are all folklore and legends even to her own kind. It is likely that her various stories actually happened to different people, or originated as pure fiction, and were amalgamated to be about a single hero, similar to how some people believe myths around figures like Thor developed.

In the end, Juni's age would depend on the story and the storyteller. In some she's young and naïve, in others more experienced, and in others she's near the end of her life (to quote from KU, 'As the story goes, one day Juni found the last wild snowdrop. She took it home, planted it by her window and named it the end flower. Later that day Juni died.')

(to quote from KU, 'As the story goes, one day Juni found the last wild snowdrop. She took it home, planted it by her window and named it the end flower. Later that day Juni died.')

Where is that in KU?

Quote from: Talps on October 30, 2020, 12:33:44

(to quote from KU, 'As the story goes, one day Juni found the last wild snowdrop. She took it home, planted it by her window and named it the end flower. Later that day Juni died.')

Where is that in KU?

Inventory description for the End Flower.

I always considered the Mother Knytt in 'A Strange Dream' to be a separate person from Juni.

Perhaps you should reconsider this! The character is explicitly named Juni in the secret cutscene, and in both endings performs the very Juni-like activity of drifting home with an umbrella. The hidden portion of Knytt Underground where you play as Juni also references this level and specifically names the protagonist as Juni.

Actually this gave me another thought. What if it's not the same Juni in each story? What if it's like Link and Zelda in Legend of Zelda? Juni's descendant Juni. Stories could span centuries.

Given that some stories can be entirely fictional, it is also entirely possible that the storyteller refers to a different Juni than another story teller. It does not even have to be family. But not in every story, the main character is named Juni, and she's not always wearing the same clothes either.

Well wearing the same clothes doesn't mean much. You wear different clothes sometimes right?

If we take Saving Thalanill, then it's entirely possible that it's the same Juni across multiple stories since Sinrevah mentions following Juni across different timelines. It could be the same Juni just in different timelines. So maybe she ages differently depending on the reality she's in?

Or Saving Thalanill is only a fictional story, if you don't believe in different timelines.

The possibilities are endless, and it comes down to the fact that you simply can't answer the question because there are just too many possibilities. For all we know, these Knytt Stories are only myhts that are being told.

I've always seen her as an adolescent to young adult mainly because of her height. There are 3 children sprites which are shorter, and there's an old man and a lovely girl who seem to be exceptionally tall. It makes me think she's young enough to still be growing, but not a little kid.

If we look at her distant relatives from Knytt, she's slightly taller than the main character whose about half as tall as the adults from his village. This supports my assumptions.

Or Saving Thalanill is only a fictional story, if you don't believe in different timelines.

The possibilities are endless, and it comes down to the fact that you simply can't answer the question because there are just too many possibilities. For all we know, these Knytt Stories are only myhts that are being told.

Well sure it's all stories. But it's fun to theorise. 

Also we know that some of these stories are at least partly true.

I've always seen her as an adolescent to young adult mainly because of her height. There are 3 children sprites which are shorter, and there's an old man and a lovely girl who seem to be exceptionally tall. It makes me think she's young enough to still be growing, but not a little kid.

If we look at her distant relatives from Knytt, she's slightly taller than the main character whose about half as tall as the adults from his village. This supports my assumptions.

But Juni is the the same height as all other knytts in KS. Does that mean they're all young enough to still be growing?

But Juni is the the same height as all other knytts in KS. Does that mean they're all young enough to still be growing?

Yes, the tall knyttfolk really don't fit with the rest of the population. Maybe they found grow-taller power-ups. The old man is also the only standard KS knytt-person with gray hair or even non-black hair, making him even more extraordinary. Still, they are there so shouldn't be ignored.

It's sad to think about, but these little beings probably don't live to old age often. Their worlds are dangerous and their only defense is insane maneuverability, something the elderly would lack. Their intelligence could give them an edge over the predators as it did with humans, but they have a clear aversion to advanced machinery and technology. This aversion is an important difference between knyttfolk and humans, probably the key difference which has led to their continuing existence while humanity fades into antiquity. And so they will continue to survive, living short but happy lives among the ruins of past civilizations, passively avoiding the dangers of the wild, and passing down traditions and folklore to each new generation, especially the stories of everyone's favorite folk hero, Juni.

More than that, I love Raicuparta's tall knytt-people in Kera. Doctor Wood in Endless Winter was modeled after Juni's mom from that level.