Thoughts on Giles/Willow

I hope I never fall in love in this strange mature way 😛 It was only last year that I snuk into the handicap toilet in the cellar at Uni to make out.

The thing that bothers me is that the relationship you describe does not sound like Willow at all. You cannot ascribe all her qualities to her youth. Even if you do, she is still quite young by the end of the show. I mean, 22!? I could not tie my shoe-laces when I was 22.
 
WillowFromBuffy said:
I hope I never fall in love in this strange mature way 😛 It was only last year that I snuk into the handicap toilet in the cellar at Uni to make out.

The thing that bothers me is that the relationship you describe does not sound like Willow at all. You cannot ascribe all her qualities to her youth. Even if you do, she is still quite young by the end of the show. I mean, 22!? I could not tie my shoe-laces when I was 22.
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lol Fair enough, two people coming together as bride and groom unsuspectedly after years of friendship and a age difference, I thought of it in a Jane Austen fairy tale way founded on platonic love and companionship not a sexy-sex way, thus one of the only Giles/Willow concepts that seemed romantic and not weird to me, I know its one of the less popular ships 😉
 
Meliza said:
lol Fair enough of course. Two people coming together as bridge and groom after many years and a age difference, founded on platonic love and companionship was a nice concept, I thought of it in a fairy tale Jane Austen way and not in a sexy-sex way, thus it was one of the only Giles/Willow conceptions that seemed alright to me, I know its one of the less popular ships 😉
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Sorry. I get a little weird when it comes to non-cannon Willow ships. Not a fan of any of them 😛 However, I do realise there may be beauty even in places where me myself don't see it.
 
WillowFromBuffy said:
Even if you do, she is still quite young by the end of the show. I mean, 22!? I could not tie my shoe-laces when I was 22.
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Seriously?
By the time I was 17 I had a job working on Aircraft electrical systems, was living away from home, learning to drive & had a steady girlfriend. A lot of my friends were married with kids & had a house by the age of 20.
To me, by the age of 22 you are about as adult as you are ever going to get.... (That's my excuse when I occasionally forget I'm not 22 any more anyway!) 😉
 
NeonSlayer
NeonSlayer
Buffy was the only late teen fans held to that standard. I constantly hear of Dawn & Faith "but she was just a kid!"
@Meliza In the comics Giles is trapped in the body of a boy, perhaps 12 or 13 years old. When he's 18, Willow may be approx 30 years old (if we count each comic as a year). How would you feel about them being in a relationship then? Does the older man, younger woman, have an effect on how you feel about the relaionship? Personally I'd prefer 18 year old Giles (remember he's still the Giles we know, the grown man, he hasn't reverted back to how he was at 18) and a 30 year old Willow.
 
@Meliza But that almost implies that sex wouldn't be a part of the relationship, and we know that neither Giles nor Willow are asexual. I guess I just have a hard time picturing the relationship, both in a sexual way and in a non-sexual way. Even discounting physical relationship, age and gender preference are still essential in a relationship. This is what separates a close friendship from an actual relationship. I could see them getting closer as friends, but nothing more.
 
@Priceless, I actually haven't thought up a headcanon for "Giles trapped in the body of a 18 year", believe it or not. lol I've meaning to start those darn comics. Yeah, the romantic aspect which made Gillow work for me, the only concept that I was like "this could work" was the idea of two old friends coming together and basing their maritial union on platonic love. So I don't know, I guess technically that would not change anything?

@Blaze, Yeah this is a very, very, old fashioned idea of romance . I thought of Gillow's marriage based on friendship and deep platonic connection, though not completely non sexual, it was novel and romantic precisely because it was old fashioned and not something you see every day..
 
Priceless said:
@Meliza In the comics Giles is trapped in the body of a boy, perhaps 12 or 13 years old. When he's 18, Willow may be approx 30 years old (if we count each comic as a year). How would you feel about them being in a relationship then? Does the older man, younger woman, have an effect on how you feel about the relaionship? Personally I'd prefer 18 year old Giles (remember he's still the Giles we know, the grown man, he hasn't reverted back to how he was at 18) and a 30 year old Willow.
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Here's a sentence I never thought I'd say:
I don't support a 50 year old man resurrected in the body of an 18 year old sleeping with a 30 year old lesbian witch.
 
I don't keep up with the comics, but if Teen Giles in it retains much of his memories, judgment, and impulse control of older Giles then his age is irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. And I was in a conversation where some older women were debating older or younger guys for romantic relationships, and I'd think they'd love a man with that much energy and youthful good looks who was still mature, responsible, and experienced (including sexually) of a much older man.

'Course if Teen Giles is acting like he's under the influence of the Band Candy (and how he was the first time he was 18) then that's different.
 
thrasherpix said:
judgment, and impulse control of older Giles
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I...

Last Watcher said:
Seriously?
By the time I was 17 I had a job working on Aircraft electrical systems, was living away from home, learning to drive & had a steady girlfriend. A lot of my friends were married with kids & had a house by the age of 20.
To me, by the age of 22 you are about as adult as you are ever going to get.... (That's my excuse when I occasionally forget I'm not 22 any more anyway!) 😉
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Really? Well there is no-way I could have gotten a job like that so early, because of how the school system works here. Not that that matters. I am impresed. Can hardly change a lightbulb. I have had three jobs related to aviation, but I don't know a thing about airplanes. Houses at the age of 20!? That is insane. I can count my friends with houses on one hand. Insane prices nowadays.

I was actually living away from my parents when I was 17, though I was in no way self-sufficent. I was an exchange student in England. I think I knew how to tie my shoe-laces, but I got into all sorts of trouble 😛
 
@Meliza Watch Willow and Xander 😀
 
Many teens, even at 18, display poor judgment and impulse control which makes them very easy to mess up, and worse, to be taken advantage of. This isn't strictly biology, but how sheltered kids are so they aren't allowed to develop the traits they need (and if they treated that way until 30 then I'm sure they'd still be immature even around then, and the brain scans would show them as having the brain of someone 20). This is the reason many aren't allowed to make certain decisions, sign contracts, or even give consent (age laws varying wildly) which isn't to say that no one at the age is capable of it...or that everyone above the legal ages is capable of being informed, rational decisions and acting in a mature way. The law can't account for all the variables and can simply only make a general boundary.

This is the reason I generally support laws regarding age and sexual consent, and it's also why I tend to be suspicious of saying someone 30 or so going after someone 18. This has nothing to do with Puritanism but of ethics regarding mental and emotional development (and includes other matters not regarding sex and romance). If Giles at 18 has all (or even most) of his mental faculties at 18-Again as he did before he died then those reasons don't apply to him. He'd have all the benefits of being a mature, experienced man while also the physical benefits of youth. And while I might be suspicious of someone who didn't know that (just assumed he was a barely legal teen), if someone did know that about him (or they got to know him well enough) then I wouldn't, because he can be of interest to them, and not taken advantage of or manipulated as many people that age can be.

If anything, I'd be suspicious of 18-Again Giles pursuing women his own (seeming) age.
 
I still think the reborn Giles from the millennial generation would be described by: "Can of Red Bull, Can of Red Bull, almost got shagged, can of Red Bull..."
 
Never really saw them as a couple romantically. I understand Willow's crush; here was a successful brain-y academic who loved knowledge as much as her and had that dry wit and more warmth than either of Willow's actual parents. So...crush.

Nothing from Giles side, although I think its clear early on that he thought very highly of her and cared about her. His reaction to her 'death' in 'Dopplegangland' was the least affected to me. He was genuinely heartbroken and when he hugged her. Aw...

Obviously their relationship changes as they get older. Willow's recklessness with magic from S4 onward should've concerned Giles more because of his own history with the stuff. Personally I think he went too easy on her.

But I loved their verbal sparring in S6 (Giles fury is so satisfying to behold here given Willow's mindset) and then later there's the fact that he risked life and limb for a chance to save her. Giles love for Willow is clearly very powerful but its not romantic.
 
I would not want it at all.

Having said that, y'all are underestimating adult Willow. If we include the comics, she has gone on a 6 month walkabout in the spirit realms, traveled around the world (Brazil, England, Japan, Germany, Tibet, etc), worked with the gov, been involved in a dozen apocalypses, created a female empowerment facility, and had 3 long term romances as well as multiple short ones. She is the most powerful witch on the planet.

What makes Giles so mature? He speaks 5 languages. She speaks several (English, French, Latin). He owned his own property (easy when you're born wealthy). She's had her own apartment. His Ripper past. She was freakin Darth Rosenberg. He knows martial arts. She excels at the dark arts. He was a librarian for 3 seasons. She was accepted to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Oxford, & the Sorbonne.

Has Giles ever had a long term romance? Has he had a regular job? (he didn't do much as librarian since students hardly ever went in there, he had Anya running the Magic Box)
 
NeonSlayer said:
What makes Giles so mature?
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Simply put Giles has wisdom, he has the ability to learn from his mistakes. That's what makes Giles 'so mature', and certainly more mature than 'two huge mistakes a year' Willow. There's a reason why she still looked to him for guidance in S7, up to and including 'End Of Days'.
 
I think Giles loves Willow, but not in a romantic way and I don’t think he sees her as a colleague or an equal. I also think that since Willow’s parents were largely absent her latching onto Giles and seeking his approval can very easily be seen as “daddy issues,” and I think that since he was the adult that has been the most involved involved in her life since she was a teenager I would interpret any romantic or sexual relationship as grooming.
 
They are just Fred/Wes with a more age gap.

And Thats not a good thing
 
Paulrina said:
They are just Fred/Wes with a more age gap.

And Thats not a good thing
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I don’t know about that. Giles was never obsessed with Willow. He did care about her I’d say she was his second favorite next to Buffy but Giles never would have had sex with someone dressed up as Willow or anyone for that matter. His devotion to his job means that he ends up being one of the few people in the Buffyverse that don’t act stupid when it comes to relationships.

With that said I’m not a fan of Wes/Fred or Giles/Willow.
 
P
Paulrina
No.You misunderstand.When I say They are alike.Fred and Willow are shy nerdy young girls.Wesley and Giles are british male watchers.I say this for characters wise.I know Giles is not obsessed with Willow
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