Until I came here, I'd probably have thought that shippers were people commanding ships. I've said this before, but I'll say it again: I just don't get exclusive shipping. Present an even remotely well thought relationship based on romance, lust, mutual despair or just plain old convenience, and you'll probably find me willing to see both positive and negative sides to it. While Buffy with Angel is a favourite of mine (for reasons to be explored further down this post), I wept when Riley went away (after several episodes of wanting to talk some sense into both him and Buffy and later grew extremely fond of the supportive role Spike grew into. (And then, of course, came "Seeing Red".)
As for Willow, I loved seeing her both with Oz and with Tara. I can see no reason why she couldn't love Oz genuinely first, then love Tara just as honestly. While I know that some place a lot of weight on the "gay now"-comment, feeling that it retracts from the relationship Willow shared with Oz, I just think it tells us about her identification with being gay. I may be reading a bit too much of my own experiences into Willow just now, but high school and early college Willow strikes me as a young woman very much in search of a group to identify with. That's not uncommon for someone who's been used to being one of a kind. The magical work (including the way she dismissed the company of the wicca wannabes at the college) and her relationship with Tara, greatly shaped how Willow looked at herself. But how we look at ourselves is not the only truth about us. Kennedy "¦ It's no secret that I'm fond of her. Her attitude matches the kind of girl I used to pretend to be when my younger step sister and I played make-believe way back when. Kennedy started out as quite the classical rebound lover, but it's not unheard of that such a relationship grows into more than an acceptably pleasant way of passing time. Besides, it's nice to see a romantic relation that (as of now) hasn't ended in tears, rage and disaster.
Xander "¦ Realistically I don't think his high school romance with Cordelia could ever have lasted into adulthood. He had too many qualms about his unfortunate background to ever be able to let his guard down completely. I think they would have to go a long, long way before he could look at Cordy as an equal partner in life rather than Queen C. I'd much rather have seen him capable of handling the challenges in a marriage with Anya.
But then again. We have followed the Scooby gang through their youth and young adulthood. If I pick any three random persons in here who are older than 25, how many are still happily together with a partner you met in your late teens or early twenties? It's not all that common. So perhaps the fact that the only relations we haven't seen ending are the two that came into existence in season 7. (Killow and Fobin, if you insist. I quite agree with you, Mumrik.)
Don't ask me about Angel's relationships, btw. At least not yet. I haven't watched "Angel", so to me his heart belongs to Buffy. (Actually, I started out following "Angel" through the transcripts on Psyche's pages, way back when it first aired, but when those pages went down and the realities of life as a working woman hit me, I stopped.)
Oh. My weak spot for seeing Buffy with Angel. Well, it goes sixteen years back, to when I fell in love for the very first time. I didn't fall in love so much as I tumpbled in love, senselessly and head first. It couldn't, and didn't, work out in the end, neither of us could give what the other one needed, yet those six months of wanting, four months of having and a longer time than I want to admit mourning what I'd never really had left a lasting impression. When I watch Buffy and Angel interact, it's a more sweet than bitter little visit into my sixteen year old mind.
