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Frillow is the femslash ship between Winifred "Fred" Burkle and Willow Rosenberg from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel fandoms.
Canon[]
Willow is a very kind, nerdy, and an incredibly skilled witch who is not only deeply loyal to her friends but also capable of great darkness.[1] Over the years, Willow has grown more confident, but her somewhat socially awkward and anxious nature is often expressed through her frequent babbling. Fred, similarly nerdy and sweet, experienced a great deal of trauma while being captured, isolated, and enslaved for five years in the dimension of Pylea. Although this did not break her curious spirit, it greatly affected her mental health. She remained bubbly and empathetic but gained a penchant for revenge.[2] Fred and Willow mirror one another with their similarly sweet, curious, and nervous energy, as well as their enthusiasm for learning and magic, making their interactions with each other easy and enjoyable.
Willow and Fred meet very briefly after she is rescued from the alternate dimension, Pylea, while Willow is waiting to tell Angel that Buffy has died. However, no interaction between them is shown.[3]
About two years later, Willow arrives at Angel Investigation in Los Angeles after getting a call from Fred[4] asking her to help restore Angel's soul. Willow is an incredibly powerful witch and the only living person who has ever re-ensouled Angel, and Fred smartly seeks her out.
Fred smiles at the sight of Willow as she walks in the front door of the Hyperion. Fred greets her and Willow walks toward Fred, with her voice pitched up, "Hi, Fred. It's good to see you" and taps her on the arm. Willow begins to ramble a bit and gets embarrassed, but Fred reassures her by likening herself to Willow, admitting that she too, is a "yammerer", which puts a huge grin on Willow's face. Wesley then asks Willow if the "call of magic" drew her to Los Angeles and she smiles and replies, "Oh, no. More like the 'call of Fred'" and she and Fred giggle together. Wesley watches as Fred and Willow get sidetracked, throwing praise and flattery at one another.
Later, Wesley asks Willow if anything in her life has changed since they last saw one another, and she skirts the question, with the obvious answer being she's gay. With presumed romantic intention, she changes the subject to ask Wesley about Fred, and he appears to briefly pick up the clues.
The team begins the magical ritual with guidance from Willow. Fred is walking with a large candle and ringing a bell when Willow moves forward to adjust Fred's posture by placing her fingers under Fred's chin and her palm on the small of Fred's back, assuring her with "You're good. Good bells." Fred smiles and Willow continues to explain the rest of the ritual. Fred holds the line with Wesley when Willow is faced with a fight but watches as Willow very powerfully holds her own. Willow and Fred finish the spell together, and Angel's soul is returned to his body.
While saying their goodbyes, Fred gives Willow some books and tells her she'd love to meet up again one day and discuss another book, the Pergamum Codex, with her. Fred admires her intellect and values her opinions, which leads her to a moment of "geeking out." From the side, Angel and Faith smirk and give each other a knowing "look" and continue to observe the conversation. Willow mistakes Fred's babbling invitation for romantic intentions and lets her down with "I'm seeing someone".[5] Fred simply replies, "Oh."[6]
Fanon[]
Despite technically meeting after the death of Buffy, their only real interaction onscreen occurs in Season 4 of the Angel episode "Orpheus". The overall consensus is that Willow misinterpreted Fred's enthusiasm for flirtation, while Fred was simply elated to be in the presence of someone she admires and as a kindred spirit with similarly awkward and hyper intelligent energy. However, some fans feel Fred was also very much visibly "fangirling" and her actions were obviously flirtatious, regardless of intention.
While the ship existed as more of a crackship prior to "Orpheus", once the episode aired, many fans were able to see firsthand the connection and chemistry between the two similar characters.
Most fics take place in alternate canon outside the episode "Orpheus" or an alternate and expanded take on the episode itself. AU is very popular. There are currently less than 100 stories for the pairing on AO3, but many more exist on message boards, LiveJournal and fansites such as "Spellbound" and "Funnier in Latin".
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- Fred/Willow tag on AO3
- REFERENCE
- Fred/Willow on Fanlore
- The when's and where's of Willow/Fred Essay by Angel Jade
- "Magic's In The Learning" — a Fred/Willow manifesto on LiveJournal
- "I'm a yammerer from way back": The Inherent Zen Rightness of Fred/Willow by Jennifer-Oksana
References[]
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| Angel Ships • Angel Characters | |||
| SHIPS | het | Bangel • Cangel • Fangel • Frunn • Spuffy | |
| slash | Angoyle • Spangel | ||
| femslash | Frillow | ||
| CHARACTERS | f/m | Angel • Buffy Summers | |
 | |||
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer Ships • Buffy the Vampire Slayer Characters | |||
| SHIPS | het | Bangel • Cangel • Fangel • Spuffy • Willoz | |
| femslash | Coffy • Frillow • Fuffy • Tillow • Wiffy | ||
| slash | Spander • Spangel | ||
| CHARACTERS | f/m | Angel • Buffy Summers | |