#they're all really young too the oldest of these four people just turned 22

[guinevereslancelot]

kinda surreal to watch my friends who are younger than me getting married and having kids meanwhile i haven't ever been in love

[mango-dolphin]

do you want to hear a hc i have about how Melromarcs world works :000 To bad you're hearing it/j

all of the heroes summoned are normally 18 or above. its VERY rare for them to be 17, and 16 is literally unheard of. that's one of the reasons people think Itsuki's the youngest(along with his appearance and how Ren carries himself/hides his age), it's practically impossible for anyone to be younger!!

Ren's party know he's on the younger side, but they think he's just a strange 17-18 year old.

i also think the weapons have age preferences: Shield heroes have the widest range, and are normally the eldest, like 20-28. Spear heroes have a smaller range, 21-24(normally they're 21 tho). Bow heroes are have the smallest, 17-18. idk about sword heroes ;A; im thinking a wide range at 17-22, normally ~18.

Ren is an outlier XD as he deserves/j

yesssssss YESSSSSS YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS if i were a dragon i think i would hoard headcanons. even ones that i don't subscribe to. i love headcanons so much thank you king

this... is a VERY intriguing idea, actually (that the weapons have a preferred age cut-off)... i don't know how much i subscribe to this headcanon, but i feel like if this were the case on any level it'd be incredibly telling of parts of the world—both in an enlightening and a concerning way.

for starters, summoning someone at 18 to early 20s is still pretty dang young to be taking heroes, from a standpoint considering age. they're not so young as to miss out on a majority of common sense, but they'd still be young enough to be generally impressionable. they have a lot of room to grow, and would typically be in a phase of their life where they'd be trying to find out who they are. so grabbing someone around that age range would make it easier to convince them "Hey, what if you were a hero? Our hero?"

(it's a little ominous admittedly, especially in cases like Naofumi's where they aren't quite given the choice, but as someone who's gonna turn 20 later this month it'd be awesome to be given that opportunity imo. like damn alright i wouldn't mind getting isekai'd like that, even though it'd be a very difficult journey. at least i don't have the illusion of accessible healthcare)

GOD DAMMIT IT GOT LONG AGAIN

there is the thing of folktales often having young heroes to begin with, so i wouldn't be surprised if the minimum age was actually 16 myself. i don't remember too much about shit i've read but like. y'know. Y'know. YA literature, young/teenage protagonists off having adventures, the "older kids" (teens) enabling more "edgy" adventures, etc etc. but it'd be really funny if one of the Cardinal Weapons had that similar train of thought: start out your kid hero early as you can help this youth rise to greatness the old-fashioned way. i hope this paragraph made sense LMAO

BUT i think if the weapons had age preferences, i'd generally agree w/your assessment on all of them.

it makes sense that the Shield spirit would prefer older or generally more mature/experienced heroes—they'd need someone reliable, not so fickle. the issue with choosing someone older is that they may already have set down some roots, so they might not be as enthusiastic about the task. however, ideally, they'd someone self-assured and more comfortable in their identity. i bet on average the heroes they've summoned are the oldest out of the four: you put your range at 20 - 28, but i'd personally say that it'd typically start at 23 (absolute limit 20) and have no upper bound for age. just whoever would be the best fit for the role (and growing/learning on the job), and would be in the most favorable position to accept the role.

i think the Spear spirit would be looking for someone willing to act, but not so caught-up with the small stuff. someone with good instincts—and you usually accumulate those instincts and skills the more time you're given to spend on them, so someone a little older is probably the weapon's preference. but not TOO old. gotta catch someone spry. so i agree on typically 21 but ranging towards 24, maybe 25 if someone stands out. probably trying to go as young as they can, but not so young as to make too many stupid decisions.

LAUGHING AT THE BOW SPIRIT HYPOTHETICALLY HAVING A RANGE SO SMALL BTW. i think this might be the "start your kid hero early to help them rise the old-fashioned way" weapon i was musing about earlier. this is so funny. idk the Bow spirit seems like it'd be the most outwardly chivalrous & "knightly" of the Cardinal Weapons, especially considering their second choice for a hero was Itsuki (and not literally anyone else) LMAO. 17 - 18 sounds about right, if not occasionally picking up to 20 years old if the other heroes are all 23+. start your knights off Early!

i feel like the Sword spirit might prefer older heroes as well—someone who'd, at the very least, would be able to come to terms with what their job as a Hero might entail. so, older typically would suggest that. i like the range you gave, but i think the Sword spirit may not particularly have a preference so much as a trend. probably heroes from 19 - 26, but has regularly chosen from the high end, and very very rarely chosen lower.

i bet when the summoning ceremony happened for the weapons, they lost their minds when the oldest hero chosen was the spear hero. like damn, alright! the hero who's usually the second youngest (if not VERY rarely the youngest) is now the adult of the group! we be choosing babies this year!

it'd also call into question why the second choice for the Sword's holder would be someone so young... i'd like to think that the second choices for the Sword, Spear, and Bow weapons were people emotionally close to their first choices, which might explain why the Sword spirit was so comfortable with choosing a baby. their first choice was also a baby, so might as well commit!

REN IS AN OUTLIER, AS HE DESERVES—

bonus: i don't know enough about the Holy Hunting Tool to really suggest anything, but i think it'd be really funny if its spirit preferred hunters/fishers, particularly gentle/humble ones. it took one look at a maybe 13, 14-year old kizuna and was like that's her. that's the person who will defend my world from evil. and then kizuna proceeded to play the fishing minigame nonstop (while also defending her world from evil). (i don't know at what age kizuna was summoned)