[ SECRET POST #2328 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2328 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 04 pages, 098 secrets from Secret Submission Post #333.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[truxillogical]

I think what always raised my hackles with Riley was that he was "normal." But not, y'know, "Oh, he's so boring compared to vampires!"

It was that he seemed very traditional. He always seemed really uncomfortable with the idea that Buffy was stronger than him. It wasn't until season 5, IIRC, that they made him blatantly hate that Buffy sometimes showed him up in confrontation, but really, from the get-go, he always seemed to be the sort of guy who very much wanted to be The Man of the relationship, even if it was usually subtle and non-threatening.

And that's not, y'know, always a bad thing. My best friend's fiance is very much like that, and she loves him a great deal and is happy with that kind of set-up, so it's groovy (though it still kinda weirds me out a bit how quickly she went from Single to YouCannotTellWhereOneEndsAndTheOtherBegins, but hey, they're happy). But on a personal level, it's something I really dislike, so watching his scenes with Buffy always made me a little uncomfortable.

I kinda shipped Buffy/Spike, though. Which was unhealthy as all get out, but man was it fun (and terrible. But fun).

[(Anonymous)]

THIS THIS.

I hated how he couldn't seem to accept that she was so much stronger and more important to the world than him.

Plus, Buffy's orgasm face was in waaay too many season 4 episodes.

OP here

[(Anonymous)]

I think in s4 he was fine that Buffy was stronger than him. It wasn't until the Initiative's drugs wore off and Adam started to fuck with him that he felt a big power imbalance with Buffy. We saw multiple times Buffy and Riley sparring together and hunting bad guys -- and hunting usually ended with them getting all riled up and having we rock sex.

I think Riley used Buffy as his personal angst bag in s5, which is not okay. Before the last half eps of s4, I think Riley didn't mind Buffy being stronger than him.

I ship Buffy/Spike and Buffy/Angel too. I get why people like them together. I just don't get why people think they're the better pairings and Riley is the evil one for wanting to be The Man in s5. (Spike tries to rape Buffy, tried to kill her in the past; Angel is a creepy stalker/pedo, who also tried to kill Buffy. Those pairings have lots of problems as well.)

Re: OP here

[truxillogical]

Well, like I said, it's not evil. It's something that makes me uncomfortable.

And yeah, what Spike and Angel did were bad things, but I guess...those are things that are universally recognized as "bad" (not by fans, maybe, but by, y'know, people), whereas I still have very well-meaning friends tell me that what I really want is a guy who can protect li'l ol' me and that's what all girls really want, and I'll feel different once I meet the right guy, and it's just kind of...accepted?

Insidious little things like that in characters make me more uncomfortable because in real life when I encounter them, it's much harder to explain why I'm uncomfortable or even that I'm uncomfortable (and to be taken seriously) than it would be to explain why a stalker made me uncomfortable.

I'll have to take your word on Riley's season-to-season changes. I'm actually rewatching Buffy from the beginning, but I'm only halfway through season 2 right now.

Re: OP here

[(Anonymous)]

I get what you mean. I guess it's the fact that fans don't see what Angel and Spike did as problematic (unless it's in a shipping war), but lambaste Riley all the time that bugs me. I do understand why fans have problems with him, and do believe that their judgments are called for in s5 and the end eps of season 4.

Hope you enjoy your rewatch!

[tabaqui]

Yup, this.