Okay. Here goes. In a very early rant, you commented about Willow's relations (okay, mebbe it's been the topic of most rants on your site, but whatever.) I thought I'd put in my few cents.

Xander. Ack. Where to start? First of all, I'd like to say (from personal experience) that 90% of all high school guys are basically dumb. In this respect, Joss has got the depiction of teenagers *nailed*. To repeat an oft used argument, he's been presented with Willow's feelings for him more than once and has *yet* to display *any* kind of compassion. Yes, I will concede to his letting her down easy when she was in his bedroom, but that was just a cover-your-ass move. In the same episode, instead of displaying any kind of shameful feelings about how the spell affected his *BEST FRIEND,* he whines about how he's got a month of grovelling in front of him. Another example of his extreme insensitivity was his whole reaction to her discovering he and Cordy in the closet. Yes, he ran after her (presumably to calm her anger. Yet *another* example of him knowing of her feelings yet trampling over them mercilessly.) HOWEVER, not three minutes after catching up with her, he's yelling. I don't remember the quote exactly, but it was something like "It's just kissing, it doesn't mean anything," then she says something like "but!" and he just cuts her off. Yes, emotions were running pretty high, but he just took offensive in a *really* poor place to take the offensive. Finally, do I even have to go *IN* to Becoming pt 2? I guess so. Yes. In my mind he *did* admit to more than friendship love. It was the WRONGEST wrong of wrongs that he has committed towards our dear little hacker. She was everything but a puppy to that kid for most of her life. She stuck with him through the dreaded junior high years (a place where the quick and the dead are *speedily* separated,) the Praying Mantis Woman, Ampata *and* the "I'm in love with Buffy phase." *FINALLY,* when she basically tells him to stuff it (I love Cordelia, I really do,) it hits him. Sure, it takes a couple months and *another* near-death experience, but it clicks. She LOVED him! NOW he has to do something about it. BUT AGAIN he doesn't think. I'm thinking the stupid stick is a little too molecularly loose to handle X-boy's brain. I'm pretty sure his mind was the testing facility for the stupid-H-bomb. He goes in and *selfishly* discloses his feelings. So, just in case she doesn't recover, he can feel he's admitted them. ::groan:: All I have to say is that I was doing the Grendler Dance Of Joy when she whispered "Oz." All in all, my opinion is of the negatory on this front.

::dreamy sigh:: On to Oz.

I am seriously entertaining the theory that Joss made Oz a werewolf *just* so he would have a flaw. Sure there's that lack of ambition thing, but he's a teenager! We're lazy! It's a genetic phase that goes *bing* at the age of thirteen and doesn't go away until we turn 21. Of course, that time usually coincides with the realisation that if we don't start working, we're gonna have to pay for another year of college and mom and dad *aren't* going to help out this time. (Again to restate,) Oz is funny, attentive, sweet, and a musician. Tell me *what* in that mix *isn't* fitting with the teenage girl's *dream* guy? Sure, he's a tad on the short side, but ::squeak, gasp, hormone dance:: SETH GREEN!! HOT! (::frigid splash::) (Now that the lustful impulses of my brain have been bathed in ice-cold water I can continue.) I am a firm believer that Oz is probably the awesome-est guy in Sunnydale. He noticed Willow in an Eskimo coat. An ESKIMO coat. How many guys, hell, MEN out there would approach a woman wearing sanatorium-bait, with the express purpose of date-hood in their minds? And not be a candidate for the straight-jacket himself? Hmm? It's pretty quiet out there. I thought so. Another thing is that he doesn't automatically associate her with Buffy. Let me explain. Yes, he *does* associate Buffy with Willow. Buffy is Willow's best friend, thereby she has become a major part of Oz's life. However, he didn't trip over Willow (noticing her on the way down) to get to Buffy. He's even seen our Slayer naked (Buffy-rat!) and gone back to our favourite red-head. I know, I know, I'm not making much sense. The more carnal synapses of my brain are impeding the logic circuits. ::sigh:: Let me try this again. Oz is cool because he went after Willow *not* because she could get him closer to Buffy. He also gained major brownie-points for being caring enough to wait. He knew she wasn't ready to be more than a friend do him after Xander's idiot trip in "Innocence." She needed time to put thing in perspective. Oz wants a relationship with Willow, not just the normal hormonal-induced-acid-trip that *is* a good 75% of most teenage associations. Again, head count of men who want that out of a woman? Damn, this room is dead.

However, I do admit to a couple problems. What is a good relationship without a little necking? (Do we see the problem yet?) How long would it be before these two horny-firecrackers (she a red-head!! We Irish rival the Italians in the sin of lust,) get a little *too* interested? Can we say "matching manacles" for a wedding gift? Front number two: how long is he gonna be around? I mean *truthfully.* Our Willow is *damn* bright. She also gets a major happy from the teaching profession. Willow is going to be graduating at the end of next year, along (presumably) with the rest of the Scooby Gang. It's a pretty sure bet that she's going to be heading off to college. (Sunnydale High *might* be able to pull a fast one on the California Teacher's Board for a few weeks, but long enough for Will to gain a retirement fund? I don't think so.) Oz (again, presumably) graduated this year, (whoo-hoo!! Fellow graduate!!) He is, admittedly, non-goal oriented. It's a pretty sure bet that he won't be going off to school with her. I could see them sticking it out for a few years, trying to keep the romance alive, but this seems more like a "puppy love" kind of thing. (Pun *so* not intended.) You, know. Sort of a trial-run healthy relationship. This loving, tender, caring relationship will probably (and hopefully) be the yard-stick to which they measure future relationships to. Overall opinion on my part? Joyously giddy on the short term (2-3 years,) but only friendship material later in life.

Now, speaking of "Friendship"...

::squeak, squeal, squeak, (insert unintelligible noises of abject joy.)::

ANGEL!! WILLOW!! ANGEL/WILLOW!! ::SQUEAK!!::

Yes. I have read "Friendship" by Melinda Dawney (GODDESS!!!!!!!) Why do you ask?

Seriously, the odds of an Angel/Willow relationship have increased *dramatically* with the complete season finale, and the announcement of the "Angel" series. Within the contents of an article run by TV Guide, Joss Whedon kicked out the idea that a character or characters from BuffyTVS will be crossing over. By sheer process of elimination (Buffy: um, duh. Giles: Watcher to Slayer (duh?) Xander: Dead Boy. Need we say more? Cordelia: :A.j. passes out in peals of laughter: Xander's love interest (duh.) Jenny: Last seen, deceased. Killed BY Angel,) the only two plausible crossovers would be Willow and (mebbe) Oz. There is a very easy way to get them to go too. As shown in "Becoming," Willow is the magic worker. Who is the likely candidate to pull Angel's ass out of the (literal) fire? Ding. Who will he be eternally grateful to? Said person, right? We're on second base... Who would he form a deep and unbreakable affection and "friendship" (SQUEAK!!) with? Rounding third... And *WHO* would be the likely choice for research-girl? We've got a homer!!! Yeah, this may be my freaky-sick logic in action, (yes, A.j.'s mind is a bad place to visit after dark,) but it makes a weird kind of sense. Will needs to go to college, yes? What's in L.A. (besides movie stars, drugs, vampires, and tourists)? Colleges!!

On with why I am sooo pro-Willow/Angel. Even though they can't conceive, I will grant my largest blessing on this particular relationship, "They will have *such* adorable children!!!!" That may be a strange compliment, but for me, that's up there. His hair! Her eyes! His charm! Her bone structure!! Can we say uberchillen's?

Seriously though, there is something so appealing about those two together. With Buffy, Angel has this stormy, passionate thing going. All smoke and fire. Tara, (or was it Amy?) once said to me, Willow was someone Xander could have in 10 years when he was ready to handle such a woman. (Not what I argued earlier, but true. *IF* he matures MAJORLY.) Angel is 240 some years old and more than ready for a woman who can not only match his maturity, but his intelligence and strength of spirit. Buffy needs some one who will balance her. Angel is too close to what she is for it to *truly* work. If they ever *could* be together, it would not be long before they would be ready to beat the living-hell out of each other. Though that would be an amusing episode. "Tonight on a Very Special Episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer... What *not* to do to your significant other..." With Willow, the full 18th century male would be in heaven, but balanced. Willow is very much the 20th century woman, but there is a delicate-ness about her that transcends time. She is the original ingenue. Where Buffy is a living, breathing, poster child for feminism, Willow is the reason men took the excuse of women being the weaker sex. She is small, and appears defenceless. Thing is, she FREAKING BRILLIANT!! Angel can respect her as a mental equal, while not have to repress his urge to protect and coddle. The good thing is (and this is one *whacked-out* good thing,) through the absolute rejection she's received from the male species, not to mention the verbal abuse suffered by the hands of "popular" people, has left a bone deep craving for love. Angel's possibly overbearing need to *be* for her would be welcomed. The affection that would be produced from this relationship would be un-matched.

Something we have not gone into is Willow's reasons for (possibly) falling for Angel. Other than the obvious (HE IS HOT. AGAIN with the hormone dance,) there is the deep-seated insecurity derived from being rejected by her first crush. Willow loved Xander with all she had and got her world crushed in when he started broom-closeting-it with Cordelia. The worst thing, however, was the knowledge that he preferred someone he couldn't *stand* (Cordelia) to someone he cared for deeply (Willow.) Not only did this promote the shyness that was inherent in this teenage girl, but it set the foundation for a *deep* insecurity complex. She may not know it, but she doesn't feel like she's worthy. This may be typical for teenage girls, but that doesn't make it right. Angel is (arguably) a grown man and his opinions should count just as much (if not more) than Xander's boyish ones. With his sincere encouragement and praise, Willow will be able to destroy that foundation and anything that comes along with it. Face it, they would be *good.*

They do have some problems though. Admittedly, there is Oz. Hey, I was the first one to go "YAY" when that adorable red-(sometimes brown)head noticed our favourite Eskimo, (as stated earlier,) but, like I said, he's not exactly permanent-relationship material. He is the exploratory boyfriend that turns into a friend later in the college career. It will be poignant, sad, and beautiful when it ends, but it will end. This leaves Angel in a good spot to take care of the second problem; age.

Okay, we all know that Angel-boy is 242-243, right? Him finding a woman his age that is A.) not a vampire B.) sane and C.) *not* evil is going to be a *real* challenge. Plus, there's the argument that Willow is only 16-17 and not a little innocent. (She just kissed her first boy!) Well, may I remind the reading public of two things. One, Buffy had just turned 17 when Angel, um, took her (?). The boy has already established himself firmly in the area of young women. Two, by the time Willow and Oz (!) break up, our dear girl will probably heading off to college, or two years into it. She'll be 18-20 and more than ready for a mature relationship. Three, who says Willow is as innocent as she seems? She is (self-admittedly) the 'Net-girl.' Even hanging out in safe little nice places means slight exposure to that which is not pure. *Plus* she's been hanging out with Buffy for years. Watching stuff die, get hacked to bits, threatened, kidnapped, and beaten kind of takes that innocence away, yes? Finally, she deserves some one who will appreciate her. Yeah, Angel may not be good enough, but he's the type that would openly admit it and do everything he possibly could to make up for that fact. Can we say servant boy? If he fell for her, there would be no way in hell that he would let anyone hurt her. EVER. He'd probably walk through the depths of hell (AGAIN!! Thank you, Buffy,) for her. She'd do the same for him.

Why? Because Willow is the loyal type. She stuck it out with Xander (the boy formerly known as dumb-ass!) for years just because she "loved him." Well that went away pretty quick when Oz showed up. (Yet *another* reason I think the boy with oft-changing hair is cool.) Thing is, she is still his friend and still considers him her *best* one. Not to mention, she could have run screaming from Buffy at the beginning of the second season. She didn't. In fact, she was the Buffster's crying shoulder for the rest of the year. Willow projects such a sweet and innocent state of being, others automatically try and protect her. This is another reason Angel would be so protective. Thing is, she is also the strongest of the group.

This is a little harder to prove than the niceness of an Angel/Willow relationship. Strength measuring sticks what they are, I would have to come up with physical stuff. Buffy, being the Slayer is able to beat up that which pisses her off. (Example 1 The Master' bones 2 Angelus post sex 3 that Freddy Kruger rip-off 4 we *know* there's a principal Snyder beating in the near future and (Definitely *not* the last) 5 can we say "Angel's in Hell?") Willow, on the other hand, does not have the physical strength do as such. HOWEVER, she has been stalked by a maniacal demon, mentally tortured through worrying about her friends (Xander, Giles, Angel, *AND* Buffy) , kidnapped, tortured, mentally beat-upon, and, finally, PHYSICALLY beat upon. This girl has gone through some stuff that has caused secret agents to sell out to the enemy. She hasn't broken. In fact, she has become the one who others come to for support and encouragement. Who did Buffy come to when Angel went the way of the happy homicidal? Willow. Who did Ms. Calendar try and make up to first? Are we sensing a theme? Who cussed the living crap out of Angel, Giles, Xander AND Cordelia (scaring into submission, I might add) when they were deviating from the greater good? WILLOW!

She may be the most diminutive of the group (hell, BUFFY has an inch or two on her) but she is the one who pulls people up by their boot straps. She is the one they defer to. Even Giles has been pulled up short by the small girl. Personally, I'd be screaming for therapy by now. Willow isn't. In fact, after she got the crap beat out of her (thanks to Angelus's throng) she went ahead, putting her health on the line, and restored his soul. She is a caring, strong, wonderful person. She deserves a saint, but since saints (thanks to Catholicism's pop mythos) don't have sex, she should get someone who will cherish her as if *she* were one. That would be Angel.

Ooooh. Here we go on our leather pants boy's insecurity complex. What *is* it with old vampires and this whole "I will be damned for the atrocities I commited" thing? Is angst now a requirement if you are over 200? The closest to cheerful old guy was Duncan MacLoud, and even he fell into the "poor me" crap every now and again. Sure, it would suck to watch your loved ones die. Probably even more to know something inside of you was the cause of their premature passings, but PUH-leeze. It was nice to see Angel acknowledge his annoying habit to Willow. "I really honed my brooding skills." Anyway, let's put it this way, he has a *very* serious case of "I was bad, I deserved lots of torture." This is probably true. (Afterall, that puppy nailing thing.. ::shudder:: I'm just not gonna go there.) However, he did all this, what? 100 years ago? Sure, we can bring up the entire Ms. Calender thing (I'm still unpleased with Joss on that one,) but I'm not going to. Why, you may ask? Because it's been done.

It's been done? I know, I know, flimsy excuse. Thing is, it *has*. I have heard so many "but it was the demon" cop-outs it isn't even funny. I'm just gonna let that slide. Yes, this guy is carrying around enough baggage to fill even CORDELIA's closet, but in the time he's spent with Willow, alone, on screen (all five minutes) he seems to be at ease with her. The sweet nature and quirky personality appear to rub-off on Lurker-boy. This is a good thing.

Arg. I should be quiet now. Final analysis though? I like the idea. In theory. As much as I've run at the mouth over the last few paragraphs, I don't think Angel is a good relationship option. Don't get me wrong. I'd bounce happily in my chair and squeal until Mom would break out the Kill-me stick if it *did* happen on the show, but my logical mind (not the demented part) says no.

Overall analysis: Willow should move to Ohio and marry a dentist, producing beautiful children with perfect teeth. Or, Xander NO, Oz Mebbe, and Angel confused yes.

I'll go away now.

Back