#anti riley

[hello-nichya-here]

Every now and then I just remember how Riley was painted as the victim in his relationship with Buffy and it just makes me so mad. The writers keep telling us that she didn't appreciate him and his way of loving her, but we are SHOWN that it was actually the other way around.

Buffy was not perfect, and it's clear she first got attached to Riley because he was a normal dude and she very much needed something in her life to be normal - but when it turned out he also had a secret life, that he was also the "hero" of his group, she accept it. She continued to like him. She still wanted him around.

Riley meanwhile seemed to resent her for being the slayer, for being stronger than him, for having other stuff going on in her life, for having dated/being the object of affection of guys that were stronger than him.

His insecurity is ridiculous. He was literally willing to die just to be a very strong, but also very dead guy, instead of being a completely healthy dude with the strength of a regular dude. He even acts like him not being able to beat Buffy in a fight, even with the "power up" is what is causing her to be "distant" sometimes, not the fact that, like he said himself, she needs to prevent the end of the world every other week and that's kinda stressful and takes a lot of her free time.

He also complains about her asking him to take care of her younger sister, the most important thing in the world to her, so she doesn't have to worry about that while out killing vampires and demons - and he thinks of that as her "not letting her be useful", and then complains again when she gives him a bullshit role in the whole "stopping the doom of all of humanity", even though he just refused the thing that would make him actually useful. He also conveniently forgets things like Buffy asking HIM specifically to take care of her after she was wounded in a fight. He doesn't see any of that as her truly including him in her life and full on needing him like he wants her to - because it's not in the way that allows him to pretend he is THE hero, not the hero's boyfriend. Being important TO her doesn't actually matter, what he really wants is to feel superior, to be more important than her.

And even outside of the Slayer stuff: this dude really heard that his girlfriend's mother was potentially dying, and instead of thinking of how he can be there for her (something he CLAIMS he wants to do) all he can think about is "Why didn't she immediately call me? Why did she tell Spike first?" (I'm a spuffy fan, but come on, she only told Spike because he just happened to show up at the very second she was ready to open up about it and just needed a shoulder to cry on). Everything, even his girlfriend's struggle with the possibility of her parent dying and her needing to step up as a parent to her sibling, needs to be about HIM, his feelings, his wants and needs.

The fucker even has the nerve to cheat on her during all of this. Compare that to Angel going to Sunnydale to give her emotional support after Joyce died, or Spike comforting her before even knowing WHY she was crying and then sending flowers without a card to honor her mom and offer Buffy some compassion, but without disrespecting her very explicit "stay away from me, Spike." It's very clear which of these three guys never actually cared about her, even a little bit.

Hell, Riley is 100% sure that the only way for Buffy to "prove" her love is to suffer for him. Her sister tells him "I like you much more than her ex, you would never break her heart like he did" - and somehow, he doesn't take that as "Buffy and her family fully trust that I'm a good guy that would never do anything to hurt her" (something Buffy herself says to Angel's face in his show) but rather as a "Nothing I do would ever hurt her because she doesn't actually love me the way she loved Angel."

Not to mention: his assumption that Buffy was only ever attracted to Angel because he was a vampire, and thus any other vampire like Draculla or Spike could easily steal her from him, just shows how much he didn't understand her at all.

Buffy started crushing on Angel thinking he was just a normal human that knew about the supernatural and wanted to fight the good fight. She didn't find out about him being a vampire until he lost control for a second and went vamp-face after their first kiss, and it freaked her out.

She fangirled for a second meeting Dracula, but man, come on, OF COURSE the slayer will be excited to see the most popular vampire ever, and she was more than willing to kill him. The whole reason there were any flirty vibes between them was because the dude had literal mind-control powers.

Spike is the closest Buffy ever got to "dating a vampire because he is a vampire" and that was because she was literally craving death. Even then, she was horrified at her own attraction to him, AND there was a different side to their relationship, with Buffy liking Spike because he was the one person that wasn't disappointed and resenting her for being depressed.

For fuck's sake, she had a thing for PLENTY of normal guys - RILEY VERY MUCH INCLUDED!

He was the one that only cared about "who is stronger" and kept insisting that Buffy was the same even after overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

And for the show to then make HER go after him, make HER all sad when he is dating someone else, make one of her closest friends blame HER for everything that went wrong in their relationship, and then make HER basically claim he was right with bullshit lines like "I wasn't there for him like I was for Angel" is ridiculous - specially when, again, what made Buffy want to be with Riley in the first place was her trying to not fall into another unhealthy relationship like the one she had with Angel. They were codependent and when he left it nearly destroyed her. OF COURSE she's gonna try not being as obsessed with the next boyfriend (or with the one after him) because she knows that shit doesn't end well.

Again, say what will about both Angel and Spike, but at least Angel walked away after realizing their relationship was a dead-end that would never make Buffy truly happy, and Spike put himself through hellish torture to get his soul back and make sure he'd be a better man who would never make Buffy suffer.

RILEY being framed as "the perfect guy Buffy couldn't appreciate and let get away" is just insulting. Of all the guys Buffy has ever been with, he is the one that deserved her the least.

#buffy summers #buffy the vampire slayer #btvs #buffy deserved better #anti riley #spuffy

[starlightsweetheart]

And they say Maya’s the one having an identity crisis, righhhhhht…

🤦‍♀️

#girl meets world #gmw #lucaya #maya hart #lucas friar #anti riley matthews #anti riley

[layer-of-slayers]

hey remember when Willow told Riley if he hurt Buffy she'd beat him to death with a shovel? where was that energy in s5, Willow? Riley has hurt Buffy and you didn't even poke at Riley with a shovel, much less hurt him with one. where was this energy when he came back in s6 with a spanking new wife and a "mission" and showed up at Buffy's place of work pretending that he needed her, proceeded to take her away from there, avoided telling her anything about his marriage OR the key point about their mission (namely: do not kill the demon we're hunting down, we need it alive), and then made her feel like shit about her life to the point that she ended up apologising to him despite her life and choices being none of his goddamn business?  where were the shovels, Will? you're a powerful witch by that point, you could have summoned one from the ether or whatever and still no shovels. you made a vow that day, Willow, and all things considered I think you should have upheld it, in spirit if not the letter of it exactly

#Buffy the Vampire Slayer #BtVS #op #Willow #Riley #Buffy/Riley #Willow Rosenberg #Riley Finn #anti Riley #anti Riley Finn #it didn't have to be 'to death' one single but powerful blow with a shovel would have sufficed to get the point across i feel

[therogue704]

Guess who😘

#lucas friar #maya hart #lucaya #girl meets world #lucaya forever #anti rucas #anti riley #riley matthews #corey matthews #topanga matthews

[sulietsexual]

Riley Finn. Does he suck or not?

Depends on the season.

Season 4 Riley is okay. He's a little boring and has a few mildly sexist moments, but he's sweet with Buffy and overall he's a decent guy.

Season 5 Riley sucks epically. He's insecure and needy, he pushes his issues and insecurities onto Buffy and blames her for everything that went wrong in their relationship. Then the show makes her run after him. Blegggh.

#answered #anti riley #angelustheimmortal

[messedupdoilies]

the correct Riley hot take to have isn’t that he’s not as bad as everyone says but rather that he’s worse

#my man was both toxic AND boring how'd he do that 😭 #and as always i will preface this with it being a writing problem and not an acting problem #Whedon's yuckiness seeping into what he considered an 'ideal' partner for Buffy #Marc Blucas is cool and nice as far as I've seen #AND he's team Spike which means he's got good taste #i actually feel bad he got stuck playing the character he did and prob faced the brunt of the backlash #anti riley

[chasingfictions]

angel, wesley, riley

. this is so targeted and insane because i was thinking Today how much i dislike wesley and angel kajkldada i think im weirdly at the point where currently i dislike them both more than i dislike riley which is wild . like i can appreciate them as characters and enjoy writing them n their dynamics but also . the rage in my bones .

THAT SAID . ok this is a hard one . like . let's game this out bc im deeply unsure. if sam-frodo-gollum was an easy swoosh slam dunk layup this is a tangled web of choices this is like two guards at a doorway and they hand you a cup of maybe poison and one only tells lies and the other only truth. you know???

okay angel . my immediate instinct is one night stand simply because i think it would be funny . he wouldnt perfect happiness with me and also genuinely boreanaz is hot and i deserve that . husband angel or best friend angel are a close second ? if he's in his like . ats s3 era ? but also i think despite my rage at him he's the one i'd least object to spending time with ? like we could vibe in silence and i could annoy him and that sounds good. i think maybe i'd need cordelia or faith there as a buffer bc he is most enjoyable when #thegirlies are there to impact his behavior .

wesley is the toughie in that i . i do not want that man to touch me . like angel or riley i think i could enjoy physical contact with . but something about wesley gives me fight or flight gives me the fuckin heeby jeebies . so that makes him best friend ? which i think could work. sad for me if he is my best friend but we could vibe we could talk about books . we'd have a very toxic friendship where i like lowkey hate him and judge his life choices but i oscillate between either calling him out too much or not expressing any of that to preserve the friendship . i think in this scenario we like met in childhood and now are like bonded for life despite our incompatibilities as people.

i THINK that leaves riley as husband ???? which . to me riley more naturally fits in the best friend category for me, i think i could enjoy being his friend . i think as a husband he's shown himself to be a shitty partner like . his weird judginess and ultimatum to buffy and cheating on buffy with those vampires . to him then kind of emotionally cheating /microcheating on sam when he gets back to sunnydale by flirting with buffy without telling her he's in a relationship??? in a MARRIAGE ???? that said riley would be fun as a husband in that i think he'd be a fun guy to bring to events .like look at my big beefy butterscotchy husband, look how big his arms are :)))))) but the more i think about it the more i think it would be a deeply unfulfilling marriage that he wouldnt let be a marriage of pure show or convenience i think he'd be a whiny bitch about it . SO okay retooling

ACTUALLY marry wesley. but kind of a political medieval marriage where it's just on paper and we don't touch or hang out and are both fucking other people ? but we still can like. combine our shared power for our interests or whatever . i think he'd be a nightmare to have children with but so would any of them ??? i mean riley actually probably works better in the children scenario but i just dont think that works for the aforementioned reasons ....

and riley one night stand is out simply bc i think he is bad at sex in like a fumbling mediocre way i cant abide . angel, despite the fact that he canonically did not eat buffy out in s3 and for that deserves to go to jail, presumably does know How and how to do it Well . darla didnt raise a fool . so i think we maintain angel one night stand ? i think the final answer is wesley husband angel one night stand riley best friend????? but i cannot tell u how deeply unsatisfied i feel at this answer,,, there is no winning here.... anon why did you do this..............

#ask #anti angel #anti wesley #anti riley #i fucking guess????? #this was so mean to do to me anon

[nestaenthusiast]

Riley is back and I’m dry heaving

#btvs #buffy the vampire slayer #buffy summers #buffy deserves better #anti riley btvs #anti riley #riley finn

[oceantornadoo]

gn reader, tw: body and food talk, ghost isn’t super nice to himself but you’re nice enough for the both of you

“where’s the rest of your food?” you nodded to ghost’s plate, laden with one chicken breast and a couple of vegetables from the mess hall. he stopped short in the hallway, trying to control his blush even though he was wearing his usual balaclava. you looked at him curiously. he got lost in the warmth of your eyes that showed genuine concern about his food, scrutinizing his plate.

“‘m on a cut.” he grumbled, gravelly voice at odds with his thoughts. you looked down and fuck, he had gotten it all wrong. he had been too gruff, like a fumbling kid talking to his crush on the playground. you tilted your head back quickly, now armed with a cheeky grin, and he almost let out a breath of relief at the sight. stupid simon, he’d almost messed it up, but you always gave him unending grace. “why? i like you big.” you started walking, nudging his shoulder in a silent goodbye. he was rooted in place, his legs like concrete as he replayed your words. you liked him big.

“thought you were on a cut, l.t.?” soap asked the next day, in line with ghost who was currently loading up on carbs and protein. “little birdie told me they liked me big.” he meant to say it in a whisper, but somehow you heard. at the front of the line, you whipped your head around fast, sending a secret smile just for him. fuck it was worth it, even if he felt too large for the room sometimes. simon would never cut again if he could see that smile. you ducked your head, suddenly shy. you couldn’t believe your l.t. took your words to heart that much. maybe there was something more in all those glances he gave you when he thought you weren’t looking.

#simon ghost riley #simon riley x reader #simon riley x you #cod 141 #ghost call of duty #john soap mactavish #fluff #i prefer a belly to abs tbh #more to grab😻 #you KNOW that man could throw you around #this is my anti diet culture post! #tornadothoughts

[raisedbythetv89]

Never not thinking about how Buffy has to beg and plead for Angel to not let the sun kill him when the first was tormenting him with what he’s done and that fact that soul or no soul he still wants to hurt Buffy and he concludes the only way he won’t is to kill himself….. and the only reason he didn’t dust was the storm and he was fully gonna let her watch him die again because he couldn’t face what a worthless piece of shit and a monster even with the soul he really is (and then suddenly they’re back together even though Buffy said they couldn’t be together anymore like RIGHT before all this so essentially Angel threatens to kill himself and then suddenly he and Buffy are back together 🙃 i hate it here)

Riley was gonna let himself die rather than become even weaker than Buffy while she again begs for him to stop being a whiny attention seeking toddler and grow the fuck up and do what he needs to do so he won’t DIE (my words not hers obviously lol) and when that doesn’t work and she still doesn’t “pay enough attention to him or need him enough” in his eyes while she’s ya know being the slayer, raising her sister and taking care of her sick mother…. He cheats on her in a way that again threatens his own life and the lives of everyone he could easily kill in her life if he were to be turned and when THAT doesn’t work he threatens to leave forever unless she forgives him IMMEDIATELY

And Spike who is the only one to actually die after she again is pleading you don’t have to do this “no there’s still time you’ve done enough” because Spike knows Buffy doesn’t deserve “good enough” Buffy deserves everything, she deserves to be free of the hellmouth even though that means they can’t be together and he’ll die

Two man-children who threaten to kill themselves because they can’t handle what they’ve done or that they’re not as strong as they think they are and drag an overburdened and traumatized young woman they had no business even dating in the first place along for their self-destructive ride vs a man who literally already sacrificed everything he was to become someone she could love without guilt, sacrificing everything he fought to become, for her and her beloved world she loves so much and fights so hard to protect.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO MEN WHO THREATEN DEATH VS THE MAN WHO ACTUALLY DIED AND THE VASTLY DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING THESE THREE EVENTS 😭😭😭

Spike dying BECAUSE he was worthy of Buffy’s love rather than because he wasn’t like the two who came before him

#SPIKE SUPREMACY #SPUFFY SUPREMACY #like I’m sorry but it’s genuinely no contest #spuffy #spike and buffy #spike x buffy #certified angel and riley hater for life #anti angel #anti bangel #anti riley finn #anti biley #spuffy meta

[hello-nichya-here]

also on the topic of Riley, I find it really disturbing how he seemed to view Joyce's illness purely through the lens of what it can do to make him and Buffy closer. Like, your girlfriend's mom is DYING you freak, this isn't a couple's retreat, it isn't about you. Ppl always have hot takes about how he wasn't that bad and I'm here to say actually he was WORSE than everyone says and WE NEED TO BE MEANER ACTUALLY.

Damn, anon, you're really ready to cut a bitch. I respect that XD

#asks #anti riley #buffy the vampire slayer

[starlightsweetheart]

Some friendship... (also I'm fucking up past and present tenses, but idgaf)

You know I just realized how absolutely humongous a crock of shit the whole Maya turning into Riley because she's getting better grades thing is, and that Riley only was accusing her of that because of Lucas. I mean, I knew it was bullshit before, but I never really though of how gigantic a 💩 it was until today.

Girl Meets Father is the fourth episode of season one. In that episode, Cory gives Maya an F on her test. Maya gets upset that she failed the test.

Maya tells Riley that "sometimes, I'm not so proud of who I am".

Maya tells Riley and Cory that she "tried to write like I was smart", Riley responds that Maya is smart.

Cory corrects Maya on one answer of the test saying "it's a tiny difference but an important one. Because if you know it, Maya, you don't fail". Maya then replies "I want to not fail".

Riley was encouraging Maya, while Cory was quizzing her on the subject of the test.

Maya says to Cory: "I just don't wanna fail, Mr. Matthews.

We go from that (Riley encouraging Maya to grow and better herself) to season three, Girl Meets Triangle, where Riley accuses Maya that the person that Maya has grown into is not who she really is.

Riley tell the art teacher that "Maya's a rebel". That Maya dances on teachers' desks, is the queen of detention and the president of Mayaville.

Riley is saying that Maya needs to be fixed because "she's been getting good grades, she's behaving all over the place".

Maya tells Riley, "I'm me! I've always been me, I'm always gonna be me! Nothings going to change that!", Riley retorts with"you haven't stood on a teachers desk or been in detention for a long time. You sold your house in Mayaville and you moved to Rileytown."

No matter what Maya says, Riley keeps insisting that Maya turned into her, blah blah blah.

Riley goes on about how Maya's style has changed towards Riley's style.

So, in the beginning of the series Riley was encouraging Maya to grow and do better. Maya even told Riley that she's not proud of who she is. Maya does mature and grow...

THEN Riley finds out that Maya likes the same guy as her. That can't happen, she can't have Lucas choosing Maya; so she accuses Maya of becoming her and wants Maya to become that failure that Maya thought she was in the beginning of the series (plus telling Maya that while Riley will have one husband, Maya will go through 5 husbands and that Lucas won't be one of them). Riley accuses Maya pulling the fire alarm, of stealing from the cafe (for me, that kind of accusation is something that a friendship can never bounce back from) and she basically forces Maya to revert back to the person she wasn't proud of being, to believe that she doesn't deserve good things or good guys... all because they like the same guy.

Thus, by the end of the series; Riley destroyed all of Maya's growth and forced Maya's regression and Riley became a hypocrite.

#girl meets world #gmw #lucaya #my take #realization #realisation #anti riley #anti r*cas #maya hart #Maya deserved so much better #Riley is a hypocrite #Maya's regression #toxic friendship #how was Riley the main character? #she's soo opposite of a protagonist #I don't understand how Riley/Rucas fans don't see this #smh smh #breaks my heart

[lilatara]

the irony of Something Blue is that despite it being an audience fave episode, it's maybe one of the preeminent examples of writer/audience dissonance. Like, fandom may not fight about it. There's no discourse about writers room disagreements, it's not controversial. But is there a final episode note that feels as off as the intended hopeful Buffy/Riley scene trying to make us root for them? They gave us an episode of Spuffy and Scooby hijinks and chemistry, and then capped it off by trying to tell us that we SHOULD be rooting for the parts of the episode that brought it to a dead halt every time.

instead of going out on cookies and Wind Beneath My Wings, we leave with the promise of more Buffy/Riley. And instead of being the promising note they're aiming for, it's more like a sinking sense of dread that we're in for months, possibly YEARS of boredom.

#buffy #buffy the vampire slayer #spuffy #something blue #spike #buffy summers #anti-riley finn #btvs

[elysianholly]

This fucking guy

My villain origin story is people claiming that Riley's biggest crime in the series was being boring. He wasn't just boring. He was a passive-aggressive chauvinist who the show bent over backward to defend. A while back on Reddit, I made a list of reasons why Riley sucks. This is that list, and I'm adding to it.

The only reason he punches Parker is because Parker is mouthing off about a girl Riley likes. Everything about this interaction suggests that Riley has heard him say similar before, and hasn't cared until the woman in question was someone he had a vested interest in.

He calls Buffy stupid for not wanting to date him (if this guy slid into your DMs and called you stupid for turning him down, lbr, this would not lead into a healthy, lasting romance)

He immediately puts himself in competition with Buffy. Even at his most inoffensive, he says things like "I don't even know if I could take you."

He has an inherently chauvinistic view of the world (established in The Initiative)

He is upset that Buffy had a significant relationship before she knew him and assumes Buffy boinked Angel in The Yoko Factor

He uses abuser language to excuse his shitty behavior like, "I love you so much I can't think straight."

He decides that Buffy doesn't love him all by himself

When he decides that Buffy doesn't love him, he confides in Xander and doesn't communicate his relationship issues with Buffy

He wants to help Buffy but only in jobs that are "manly." In No Place Like Home, for instance, he nopes out when Buffy suggests he help with the spell to identify what might be wrong with Joyce. Even if there wasn't a lot for him to do, he could, idk, stick around to be moral support for his partner who is trying to figure out what might be attacking her mother. That seems like a pretty standard partner thing to do.

He gets upset that Buffy "doesn't get all worked up over him" the way she did with Angel when "getting all worked up" in CONTEXT means "isn't constantly miserable."

He is sad boi at Buffy in OoMM for also prioritizing her mother's health after she believes Riley is healed rather than sticking around to play nursemaid

He wants Buffy to show emotion over Joyce at a time when Buffy literally cannot (if you've never had a parent in the hospital with a life-threatening illness, maybe you don't know that there are times/places to break down and "in the hospital" where you're supposed to be strong isn't one of them)

He doesn't care that his girlfriend's mother is sick, possibly with something life-threatening; he cares that he got to be the hero of the piece, the shoulder for Buffy to cry on. His only reaction to any of that was to be hurt that Buffy didn't respond the way he thought she should; no concern for her well-being or Joyce's, just Riley getting his feelings hurt because he wasn't the center of Buffy's universe or the rock for her to lean on when all went to pieces

This is further confirmed by the way he just doesn't mention Joyce's absence at all in As You Were. When he leaves Sunnydale, it's after Joyce has had a successful operation. He returns and she's not there and no questions? No condolences? It's because he doesn't care.

He doesn't ask about Buffy's death when she lets him know she died.

He starts separating himself from the Scoobies and then gets mad for not being included

He literally cheats on Buffy with vampire sex workers (there are people who say they were not sex workers, but in a show where monsters are metaphors, you have to be especially dense or willfully obtuse to not realize this is what they are)

Riley intentionally puts himself in a position where he might be killed or turned specifically to SPITE BUFFY, which demonstrates his lack of consideration for what she might have to do later if things go bad

Riley blames Buffy for being roofied by Dracula (again, monsters as metaphor)

He never apologizes or owns that he was unfaithful

He blames his infidelity on Buffy, actually

The first time Buffy learns Riley isn't happy, she's told she should've seen it, which is classic victim blaming and happens from Xander AND Riley (and a good amount of fans who want to excuse that behavior)

He is fine with torturing sentient creatures, and in fact had a stake made specifically so he could torture vampires without killing them

He goes behind Buffy's back all the time

Riley was not boring. If he were boring, he would be inoffensive. Dull to watch but not rage-inducing. But he is rage-inducing because, despite all the passive-aggressive gaslighting bullshit he gets away with, people in this fandom still believe he was "Buffy's best boyfriend." That she was to blame for the deterioration of this relationship. That he was the healthiest of the Buffyverse men. The show does, too. That's why Xander (Wh*don's mouthpiece) gives that sanctimonious little speech to Buffy (the audience in this case) in Into the Woods to scold us for not treating Riley better. Then they double down in As You Were to make Buffy fawn all over herself to let this gaslighting asshole off the hook for everything he put her through.

Riley's sin is not being boring. It's that he was actually awful. Wh*don himself once called Riley a "healthy relationship" for Buffy, and if that doesn't tell you something, there's no talking to you.

#btvs #buffy #anti riley finn #anti buffy x riley #buffy the vampire slayer #buffy meta #btvs meta

[dreamsuvivor]

Riley boy… if you can’t handle dating a bad bitch, don’t date the baddest of them

#btvs #riley finn #buffy the vampire slayer #buffy summers #anti riley finn #spike #spike btvs #spuffy #angel btvs

[messedupdoilies]

Into the Woods is literally so annoying to watch 😭 its like "watch us blame and punish literally every other character in this conflict besides the one so obviously at fault"

#i didn't say his name but he popped into ur head didnt he #anti riley