Is it capitalized or not? (I'm not talking about when Spike calls Buffy "Slayer," but in regular text) I was under the impression that the convention was to have it in lowercase, but if Watcher is capitalized, shouldn't slayer be, too? 

Anyone?

I'll be interested in seeing the replies for this. I never know what to put.

I capitalize because it's (at least to me) like an offical title, but I could be wrong easily enough.

I always capitalize it, but not everyone does.  As for watcher, I don't usually know if that's supposed to be capitalized or not.  I think I've done it both ways before.

At first, I used to only capitalize it when Buffy and Faith were the only slayers around. After S7, I used to think it shouldn't be because there are a lot of slayers, but then one of my betas told me it should still be capitalized, so I guess I capitalize it always.

It depends on who's saying it.

If we're talking about a watcher or a slayer, then it's lowercase. 

If a character, such as Spike, is referring to a specific character such as Buffy or Giles as "The Slayer" or "Hey Watcher--we're out of Wheatabix," then it'd be capitalized, because then it becomes a proper pronoun like "my Mom"  or something.

At least, in my opinion :)

Scarlett is correct. It's all in the usage. If it is being used as a proper noun (in place of a name, or as a title) then it is capitalized. If it is being used as a common noun, it is not.  However, many people do capitalize it all the time. If an author chooses to do that, I think they need to be consistent and do the same for watcher.

The Slayer vs a slayer is often a good guideline.  "Hey, is the Slayer here?"   "Are you the Slayer?"  "Come on, Slayer, don't be such a party pooper." are example of using it as a proper noun.

Common noun usage would be: Buffy used her slayer enhancements to fight vampires.  Most slayers don't live very long.  Do you know what a slayer is? (actually, in the previous sentence, I can see capitalizing it if it's being said with some sort of reverence or importance - that one could be situational).

Ditto for watcher. Proper noun: The Council of Watchers; Head Watcher; "Hey, Watcher!"  "Where's the Watcher?"
common noun: Giles is an ex-watcher. Buffy didn't want a new watcher, but they sent Wesley anyway.
Again, some people do capitalize it all the time and that can be argued is personal preference, as long as it's consistent throughout the fic. I wouldn't, though.

psst - "my mom" is not capitalized. Mom is only a proper noun when it is being used as her name. Is Mom home yet?   Mom, where are you?
Have you seen my mom around?  Your mom works hard. It's just a common noun unless it's taking the place of her name. Then it becomes a proper noun.

Oh, good, I've been doing it right then...lol!

What Slaymesoftly said!

As a side note, the 'the' in the Slayer is NEVER capitalised (unless it is at the start of a sentence, of course).

Thanks, all! *trudges off to go check her capitalization* (And I thought I was done with all that after grade school! :D)