I recently was thinking about some of Willow's behavior in season six. She grows to become so controlling of Tara, messing with her mind, doing intense memory spells that backfired and almost killed the entire group, fighting when Tara was just trying to be helpful and supportive... I personally have been in relationships with controlling, manipulative people, (also see Spike and Buffy before he got his soul) and so many of my friends have as well. It's so scary because Willow was introduced as such a sweet, awkward, funny, gentle, nerd. (Honestly, she was much more relateable to teenage Babs than you were, Buffy.) How did Willow, who wore red cordoray overalls and baked treats for her teachers, grow into becoming an abusive partner? The short answer is that she became addicted to magic, which is an allegory for drugs. It scares me because if drugs could do that to Will, who's to say that my eating disorder hasn't in the past and won't in the future morph me into someone who can hurt the one they love? I guess in order to keep the people we care about safe, me and Willow both have to put in consistent work on our mental health. We have to take care of ourselves so that we don't hurt or viciously flay anyone. I'm gonna work on my mental health a lot this year.
Babs
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