History Main / ProportionalAging

This trope is essentially the inversion, centering around a long-lived race with a proportionally long life cycle. A simple example would be to say that if this race lived twice as long as a human, then their childhood, adolescence, etc would also be about twice as long.

Note that in real life, humans and some other great apes have proportionally long adolescences compared to the majority of species. Most animals grow to maturity as fast as physically possible and then live a maximum lifespan roughly proportional to their likelihood of being eaten, i.e. bats mature in one year and live up to 20 because they fly, deers mature in 18 months and live about ten years, bowhead whales mature in their twenties and can live over two centuries. That being said, it has been observed that the trope is generally TruthInTelevision, though the reality is that it's more of a case of correlating both maturation rate and maximum lifespan with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R/K_selection_theory reproductive quantity vs. quality]] rather than with each other; that is, the fewer the number of offspring produced at a time, the slower they mature and the longer their lifespan, whereas [[ExplosiveBreeder rapid breeders]] tend to have both faster maturation rates and shorter lifespans. This means that the common belief of one human year being equivalent to seven dog years is not quite accurate. Outliers exist, of course, making the trope more of a helpful guideline than an absolute rule.

** ZigZagged with the Krogan, thanks to their [[HealingFactor unique regenerative biology]], they can live about as long as the asari if not longer, however, because they're a ProudWarriorRace from a DeathWorld who constantly hire themselves out as mercenaries, most of them never make it past a century before they die. As such, krogan who are long lived are considered extreme badasses for being able to survive constant fighting for so long. The prime example being Wrex, who is several centuries old and is implied to be a veteran of the Krogan Rebellions which occurred about a thousand years ago.

** The Salarians live for only forty years on average and accordingly mature faster. Mordin, who is considered geriatric at thirty-eight, mentions that his nephew is a tenured professor at sixteen and that this isn't considered unusual.

** The asari have an average lifespan of around a thousand years and age very slowly, their cultural life stages also reflect their long lifespan as seen with Liara, who despite being 106, is considered the human equivalent of a young adult in their early 20s. Generally, the asari have [[TheThreeFacesOfEve three distinct phases of life]], the Maiden stage from puberty until around 350, the Matron stage in the middle when they begin to settle down and have children, and finally the Matriarch stage from around the age of 700 until their deaths.
** ZigZagged with the krogan, thanks to their [[HealingFactor unique regenerative biology]], they can live about as long as the asari if not longer, however, because they're a ProudWarriorRace from a DeathWorld who constantly hire themselves out as mercenaries, most of them never make it past a century before they die. As such, krogan who are long lived are considered extreme badasses for being able to survive constant fighting for so long. The prime example being Wrex, who is several centuries old and is implied to be a veteran of the Krogan Rebellions which occurred about a thousand years ago.

** The salarians live for only forty years on average and accordingly mature faster. Mordin, who is considered geriatric at thirty-eight, mentions that his nephew is a tenured professor at sixteen and that this isn't considered unusual.
** The vorcha have it even worse as they only have an average lifespan of ''twenty'' years. As a result, not only do they mature extremely rapidly, they also [[ExplosiveBreeder breed extremely rapidly]]. These traits, combined with their [[YouNoTakeCandle lack of intelligence]] due to having such short lives, has led most of the other species to consider the vorcha barely more than animals, and they are commonly compared to rodents and other pests due to their tendency to cause overpopulation.

* In the ''Series/{{Blade}}'' TV series, pureblood vampires age extremely slowly. The most oft-seen pureblood Charlotte is about 200 years old but looks like a girl barely in her teens. Her outfit is decidedly Puritanical. However, her mindset is definitely not childlike, and everyone treats her with the kind of respect reserved for elders. The other purebloods also treat her as equals, aware of her actual age. Overlord Rusk, looking like a man in his late 30s or 40s, is stated to be over 600. It's unclear if they actually stop aging at some point. After all, turned vampires stop aging the moment they become undead.

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

** The Asari have an average lifespan of around a thousand years and age very slowly, their cultural life stages also reflect their long lifespan as seen with Liara, who despite being 106, is considered the human equivalent of a young adult in their early 20s. Generally, the asari have [[TheThreeFacesOfEve three distinct phases of life]], the Maiden stage from puberty until around 350, the Matron stage in the middle when they begin to settle down and have children, and finally the Matriarch stage from around the age of 700 until their deaths.
** ZigZagged with the Krogan, thanks to their [[HealingFactor unique regenerative biology]], they can live about as long as the asari if not longer, however, because they're a ProudWarriorRace from a DeathWorld who constantly hire themselves out as mercenaries, most of them never make it past a century before they die. As such, Krogan who are long lived are considered extreme badasses for being able to survive constant fighting for so long. The prime example being Wrex, who is several centuries old and is implied to be a veteran of the Krogan Rebellion which occurred about a thousand years ago.

** The Salarians live for only forty years on average and accordingly mature faster. Mordin, who is considered geriatric at thirty-eight, mentions that his nephew is a tenured professor at sixteen and that this isn't considered unusual.
** The Vorcha have it even worse as they only have an average lifespan of ''twenty'' years. As a result, not only do they mature extremely rapidly, they also [[ExplosiveBreeder breed extremely rapidly]]. These traits, combined with their [[YouNoTakeCandle lack of intelligence]] due to having such short lives, has led most of the other species to consider the vorcha barely more than animals, and they are commonly compared to rodents and other pests due to their tendency to cause overpopulation.

* The Tenctonese (aka Newcomers) in the series ''Series/AlienNation'' age at about the same rate as humans do until they reach their early 20s, at which point their aging slows down considerably. When Matt learns that George - who appears to be in his 30s - is actually closer to 70 years old, Matt jokingly asks if Emily is 35. George says that she is 12 and explains the Newcomer aging process in more detail to Matt.

** Viera can live to be three-to-four hundred years old but take time to mature. A Viera child won't develop their sexual traits until the age of thirty-three.

* Dragons in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' are magical in nature and can become TheAgeless, but it takes a great deal of time for them to mature to such a point. Dragon whelplings are physically and mentally children for hundreds of years.

[[folder:Real life]]

* In ''Manga/NanatsuNoTaizai'', the giantess Diane acts like a fifteen-year-old and isn't taken very seriously by her coworkers (of different species), although she's lived for centuries already. In a flashback, she and a slightly older fairy visit human friends and are amazed to see that the humans got married and started a family in the few decades since Diane and [[spoiler:King]] last saw them.

* In the ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' franchise. It is believed that Xenomorphs can live for many years, even Queens and Empresses can live for many years longer than Drones and Warriors.

* In the ''Franchise/{{Alien}}''. It is believed that Xenomorphs can live for many years, even Queens and Empresses can live for many years longer than Drones and Warriors.

* [[BigBad The Alien Drone]] from ''Film/{{Alien}}'', according to WordOfGod, the Drone had a short life expectancy of a few days, the Alien was dying in the shuttle, after he creates his own nest in the ''Nostromo''. He was looking for a safe hiding place in the shuttle to die alone, since he had already fulfilled his objective.

Note that in real life, humans and some other great apes have proportionally long adolescences compared to the majority of species, most animals grow to maturity as fast as physically possible and then live a maximum lifespan roughly proportional to their likelihood of being eaten. I.e. bats mature in one year and live up to 20 because they fly, deer mature in 18 months and live about ten years, blue whales mature about as fast as humans and may live for centuries. That being said, it has been observed that the trope is generally TruthInTelevision, though the reality is that it's more of a case of correlating both maturation rate and maximum lifespan with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R/K_selection_theory reproductive quantity vs. quality]] rather than with each other; that is, the fewer the number of offspring produced at a time, the slower they mature and the longer their lifespan, whereas [[ExplosiveBreeder rapid breeders]] tend to have both faster maturation rates and shorter lifespans. This means that the common belief of one human year being equivalent to seven dog years is not quite accurate. Outliers exist, of course, making the trope more of a helpful guideline than an absolute rule.

* The Greenland sharks don't reach sexual maturity until they are 150 years old and some individuals seemingly can live to be at least 400.

-->-- ''Series/TheMandalorian''

* Very common in ''Literature/{{Elcenia}}''. Dragons, elves, and part-elves (both TrueBreedingHybrid Barashin halfbloods and UnevenHybrid Elcenian insert-fraction-here-elves) are LongLived and have correspondingly long childhoods. Children of different species and different ages, but the same state of development, are described as having the same "equivalency". A bit in chapter 18 of ''Summons'' sums it up quite nicely: a girl with 5/8ths elven blood, wanting to apprentice as a witch with her dad's fiance, asks why she has to wait til she's seventeen when his existing apprentice is only nine -- but the nine-year-old is all human, and so is mature enough for apprenticeship. Meanwhile, the fiance himself, a full elf, relates that he couldn't start his own apprenticeship til he was twenty-five, and the girl is quite glad that she doesn't have to wait ''that'' long.

** ZigZagged with the Krogan, thanks to their [[HealingFactor unique regenerative biology]], they can live about as long as the asari if not longer, however, because they're a ProudWarriorRace from a DeathWorld who constantly hire themselves out as merceneries, most of them never make it past a century before they die. As such, Krogan who are long lived like Wrex, who is implied to be a veteran of the Krogan Rebellion more than a thousand years ago, are considered extreme badasses for being able to survive constant fighting for so long.

** The Vorcha have it even worse as they only have an average lifespan of ''twenty'' years. As a result, not only do they mature extremely rapidly, they also [[ExplosiveBreeder breed extremely rapidly]]. These traits, combined with their lack of intelligence due to having such short lives, has led most of the other species to consider the vorcha barely more than animals, and they are commonly compared to rodents and other pests due to their tendency to cause overpopulation.

** ZigZagged with the Krogan, thanks to their [[HealingFactor unique regenerative biology]], they can live about as long as the asari if not longer, however, because they're a ProudWarriorRace from a DeathWorld who constantly hire themselves out as merceneries, most of them never make it past a century before they die. As such, Krogan who are long lived like Wrex (who is implied to be a veteran of the Krogan Rebellion more than a thousand years ago) are considered extreme badasses for being able to survive constant fighting for so long.

* ''Franchise/MassEffect'': The salarians, opposite the long-lived asari, live for only forty years on average and accordingly mature faster. Mordin, who is considered geriatric at thirty-eight, mentions that his nephew is a tenured professor at sixteen and that this isn't considered unusual.

* The Giants from ''Manga/OnePiece'' seem to live thrice as long as humans. One giant is show to be a young adult at 81-years old, and was shown in a flashback to look and act like a little kid when he was 18 years old. And the oldest giants known were over 300 years old.

** ZigZagged with the Krogan, thanks to their unique regenerative biology, they can live about as long as the asari if not longer, however, because they're a ProudWarriorRace from a DeathWorld who constantly hire themselves out as merceneries, most of them never make it past a century before they die. As such, Krogan who are long lived like Wrex (who is implied to be a veteran of the Krogan Rebellion more than a thousand years ago) are considered extreme badasses for being able to survive constant fighting for so long.

** The Asari have an average lifespan of around a thousand years and age very slowly, their cultural life stages also reflect their long lifespan as seen with Liara, who despite being 106, is considered the human equivalent of a young adult in their early 20s. Generally, the asari have [[TheThreeFacesOfEve three distinct phases of life]], Maiden stage from puberty until around 350, the Matron stage when they begin to settle down and have families, and finally the Matriarch stage from around the age of 700 until their deaths.

** The Asari can live to around a thousand years and age very slowly, seeming to reach the equivalent of sexual maturity in their 40s. Liara is 106 and seems to be the equivalent of her early 20s. They also have [[TheThreeFacesOfEve three distinct phases of life]], Maiden, from puberty until around 350 when they enter the Matron stage and start having families, and then Matriarch around the age of 700 until their deaths.
** Averted with the Krogan, surprisingly. They can live longer than asari (one krogan, Nakmor Drack, was over 1400 years old and expected to die of old age "in a century or two"), but apparently they reach adulthood at about an average time by the standards of other species. Of course, since they're a ProudWarriorRace from a DeathWorld, very few of them ever make it a century before they die.

** The asari can live to around a thousand years old and age slowly, seeming to reach the equivalent of sexual maturity in their 40s. Liara is 106 and seems to be the equivalent of her early 20s. They also have [[TheThreeFacesOfEve three distinct phases of life]], Maiden, from puberty until around 350 when they enter the Matron stage and start having families, and then Matriarch around the age of 700 until their deaths.
** Averted with the krogan, surprisingly. They can live longer than asari (one krogan, Nakmor Drack, was over 1400 years old and expected to die of old age "in a century or two"), but apparently they reach adulthood at about an average time by the standards of other species. Of course, since they're a ProudWarriorRace from a DeathWorld, very few of them even reach a century or two of age.

* ''WesternAnimation/Invincible2021'': Omniman reveals that Viltrumites have very long lifespans as a result of aging very slowly. This extends to his son, Invincible, as, despite technically being half-human/half-viltrumite, Omniman explains that [[DominantSpeciesGenes Viltrumite blood is dominant]] meaning that Invincible is almost pure Viltrumite because of how genetically similar humans are to Viltrumites.