Well, in "Innocence", it's fairly clear to Oz and the viewer that Willow's interest in him has far more to do with her feeling hurt by/competitive with Xander over Cordy than it does with *him*. (Not just the aborted kiss, but also in the library - "I'll get Oz. He has a *van*".) Their conversation's intercut with Xander's linoleum line, so I've also long read it as meta evidence for Oz being the "good" choice for Willow, someone who's *not* a typical guy as Xander is characterized to be, which goes back to sex=bad, Willow=good angle. And again in "Amends", they *just* got back together, and she takes the initiative in order to show that she's...his? Trustworthy? I mean, I get pretty sick of Oz being dismissed merely as "the best boyfriend evah", but both moments see Willow expressing sexual willingness for reasons *other* than Oz. As for "Phases" - Willow says she's ready, but she also insists on using the term "smoochies", which is...not entirely indicative of emotional maturity? Something like that. Their graduation day sex, on the other hand, just happens, and feels right and natural for both of them, just like their waking up together in "WAH" is. Willow appearing in his room later in that episode, all dressed up like Veruca, is very much - to me anyway - an echo of her Barry-White-playing in "Amends"; her discomfort with her own sexuality leads to scene setting and dress up. *pets her*
I keep going back to Oz's fear of letting himself go wild. Didn't you write a ficlet about the real reason Oz turns down Willow's makeout offer in "Innocence"? It's in "Paramitas", yeah. Oz's introduction to the world of slaying is pretty damn violent - gunshot wound! "arm!" - and the horror of Angelus is a nice backdrop to his refusal. But his textual explanation's a good one to start with - he wants *Willow*, not an empty moment, so I'm not sure if it's his fear of going wild that early so much as it is a fear of being used. At least onscreen. In fic, of course, there's any number of reasons.
If I were writing canon Oz/Willow (god help us all if I ever do), though, their relationship post-"Phases" would have to take into account his fear of going wild, definitely. As it is, writing Giles/Oz that also takes into the relationship with Willow lets me explore Willow's under-developed sexuality and what I'm really convinced is her woman-focused bisexuality.
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devil's advocate here. don't hit me.
Date: 2004-08-24 03:06 pm (UTC)I keep going back to Oz's fear of letting himself go wild. Didn't you write a ficlet about the real reason Oz turns down Willow's makeout offer in "Innocence"?
It's in "Paramitas", yeah. Oz's introduction to the world of slaying is pretty damn violent - gunshot wound! "arm!" - and the horror of Angelus is a nice backdrop to his refusal. But his textual explanation's a good one to start with - he wants *Willow*, not an empty moment, so I'm not sure if it's his fear of going wild that early so much as it is a fear of being used. At least onscreen. In fic, of course, there's any number of reasons.
If I were writing canon Oz/Willow (god help us all if I ever do), though, their relationship post-"Phases" would have to take into account his fear of going wild, definitely. As it is, writing Giles/Oz that also takes into the relationship with Willow lets me explore Willow's under-developed sexuality and what I'm really convinced is her woman-focused bisexuality.