I should say - Buffy is clearly not responsible for how Willow misinterpretsmisinterprets Buffy's advice or example. Similar for Xander, Giles, Oz, Tara etc.
I ran out of space so had to cut some nuances.
I think Willow and Spike especially are *extremely* sensitive to others' treatment, approval/disapproval, and love/dislike for them - but mostly they want to do what they think is right. They are emotion driven, intuitive - and the conclusions they come to about what will make them good or worthy of love are often way off. They are dangerous - because they internalize others' messages and codes while sometimes missing important features of them. But I think they are far less likely than Angel or Cordelia to blindly follow a higher power. They do listen to others - but I think, at least before s7, they fail to fully listen, only picking up part of what others say. They are sort of seeking approval, but would rather follow their own instincts - to figure out from others what general principles to follow and then internalize them and follow then through to their conclusion. I.e. Spike admires Angelus and then becomes a slayer-killer; Willow admires Buffy's power so builds a dark arsenal of power. On the good side, Spike admires Buffy and chooses to sacrifice himself as she might do; Willow admires Tara and tries to become a good witch. Whether good or evil - they are not so much seeking direct approval, as to figure out through observations what qualities are admirable, and then to reproduce these qualities in their own way. I think that's the difference between them and Angel - who needs something of the direct line to the Powers trekking him exactly what they want him to do, rather than trying to determine who he wants to be.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2014-10-12 05:44 am (UTC)I ran out of space so had to cut some nuances.
I think Willow and Spike especially are *extremely* sensitive to others' treatment, approval/disapproval, and love/dislike for them - but mostly they want to do what they think is right. They are emotion driven, intuitive - and the conclusions they come to about what will make them good or worthy of love are often way off. They are dangerous - because they internalize others' messages and codes while sometimes missing important features of them. But I think they are far less likely than Angel or Cordelia to blindly follow a higher power. They do listen to others - but I think, at least before s7, they fail to fully listen, only picking up part of what others say. They are sort of seeking approval, but would rather follow their own instincts - to figure out from others what general principles to follow and then internalize them and follow then through to their conclusion. I.e. Spike admires Angelus and then becomes a slayer-killer; Willow admires Buffy's power so builds a dark arsenal of power. On the good side, Spike admires Buffy and chooses to sacrifice himself as she might do; Willow admires Tara and tries to become a good witch. Whether good or evil - they are not so much seeking direct approval, as to figure out through observations what qualities are admirable, and then to reproduce these qualities in their own way. I think that's the difference between them and Angel - who needs something of the direct line to the Powers trekking him exactly what they want him to do, rather than trying to determine who he wants to be.