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stellasolaris · 1 year

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What does canon suggest about Riven and his background? I will share some of my thoughts about Riven's background and potential socioeconomic status in this post. As always, these are just my opinions. (If anyone's wondering: no, this is not the meta post that I was talking about in one of my other posts.)

I'll start by saying that my following thoughts are based on the RAI dub and the first four seasons (S1-4) as I don't consider anything past season four canon. However, I'm mainly going to focus on seasons one and two in this post.

As pointed out by many, the one-on-one scene between Sky and Riven in 2.08 is the closest we get to Riven directly confessing that he is (or has been at some point in his life) from lower-class origins.

Riven: Must be nice being a prince. You spend your whole life learning from the best.

I agree that this does give us some indication of his social class, mostly because this line fits with the rest of his characterization that's established in the earliest seasons, but even on its own, it does imply that Riven isn't nearly as privileged as Sky. He wouldn't make a comment specifically about Sky's access to highly qualified teachers if he didn't feel like he lacked them in some capacity. In other words, when we take into consideration his character as a whole, it's implied that Riven has not had as many resources growing up. This hints at him being from the lower class or relating to the struggles of someone from the lower class.

It's important to note here that this isn't the first instance Riven has expressed distaste or a mocking attitude toward privilege. It is also equally important to understand why he reacts so strongly to it. It's not that he hates or dislikes anyone who's above him in wealth or opportunity. I think he primarily has an issue with the injustice of being looked down on, of not being treated fairly, of not performing well enough. He's sensitive to people being ignorant of their privileges, which is why he often calls it out, but it's not necessarily out of resentment toward the person or their social class, but rather an indicator of his roots and how he feels about privilege in general. 2.21 is a good example of this, which I will get into later.

The reason Riven is so aggressive and abrasive in the first season has to do with a myriad of things, but it makes the most logical sense that he's likely had a bad childhood (aka trauma) and experienced being treated unfairly by either the system or people above his status. Riven wouldn't otherwise feel so strongly about privilege in season two or make patronizing remarks that are directly about one's social class in season one.

Sky (Brandon): What Riven means is that perhaps it would be best for you to go back to Alfea while we try to capture that animal. Riven: We don't need your editorial comments, Your Highness.

Brandon (Sky): Riven, you've gone too far! Riven: You're just Prince Sky's yes-man, Brandon. Why don't you go clean up his stables?

In season one, Riven likely projected a lot of his personal issues and insecurities on Brandon and Sky and their class dynamic as a whole—primarily his trust issues and feelings of inferiority—but after the infamous monster scene in 1.22, he goes through a ton of humbling and character development. He grows as a person and learns to trust and appreciate the boys, and most importantly, he starts to embrace himself. He also finally feels accepted by the group, which makes him want to clean up his act even more.

By the time we get to season two, Riven is relatively calmer and significantly lacking in condescension. The comments he continues to make about privilege are mostly a nod to his background and how he feels about unfair advantages. This is why we see a much more mature and open version of Riven in season two where he continues to make remarks about privilege on several occasions, but he's much more reasonable about it.

I want to thank @skylaryozora for mentioning the following scene in 2.21 because it ties in perfectly with what I've been explaining so far.

Riven: Well, I think it's high time you girls get a taste of what life's like where you don't have magic powers, and all you can count on are your wits and your muscles.

In this episode, Bloom says she finds it hard to get used to not having magic powers, which leads to Riven making the aforementioned comment. Similar to 2.08, he indirectly calls out the privilege (albeit a different kind) but doesn't make a big deal out of it. He's most likely talking from personal experience and having had to count on his "wits and muscles" as a kid. He isn't angry or insulting in this scene, but he does acutely notice the difference between himself and others when it comes to having unearned advantages or a better upbringing or better circumstances, and again, he wouldn't continue making these types of remarks if it wasn't deeply personal to him.

Riven's comments based on 2.08 and 2.21 alone suggest that he's had to work hard on his own to get to where he is. It's blatantly obvious he knows what a lack of privileges (and likely economic instability) feels like, probably more than anyone else because the writers make it a pattern to have Riven point out these things.

Let's talk about Riven's skills and what they mean for his character

I don't think it's a coincidence that Riven is good at creating lock picks from scratch . . .

. . . or that his stealth and wilderness survival skills are impeccable compared to others

. . . or that he's exceptionally resourceful and adaptable

. . . or that he's good at spying

These are generally not skills someone randomly picks up or excels in after a year or two of training. These are skills usually associated with people who've had to look after themselves, watch their backs, and protect themselves—people who are more likely to come from the lower class than the upper class. These "street smarts" skills might not hold a lot of weight on their own but together they form a bigger picture as to what Riven has possibly gone through to obtain these skills. (Yes, I'm sure they teach all these skills at Red Fountain, but what I'm getting at here is that Riven's expertise lies in these skills, and I think it was an intentional decision on the writers' part to showcase these particular skills.)

It's also important to consider Riven's fighting style in season one. It's not very polished. It's rushed. It's rough. It's very direct and brutal. He's not afraid to play dirty. Riven almost seems inexperienced compared to the other guys when it comes to technique and formal training, which suggests that Riven has likely been self-taught for the most part or lacks some private or selective education.

Incidentally, and this is more of a personal note, I think one of the primary reasons why Riven seems to always lose to Sky in one-on-one combat is because Sky has an edge over Riven when it comes to technique. But when it comes to other skills, like racing and wilderness survival instincts, Riven is better than Sky—the former being canon, as witnessed in 2.01. In spite of this, Riven feels a little insecure and bitter about not being as good as Sky. That lack of technique, coupled with a lack of opportunities, might be what he thinks is holding him back from being one of the best students in Red Fountain. The balcony scene in 2.04 is interesting in that regard because Riven appears to feel some type of way about the fact that Brandon and Sky were chosen to accompany the girls to a mission instead of him. He doesn't express it outright, per se, but you can tell by his tone and posture that he wishes he was included.

While the show deservedly gets a lot of criticism for its bad writing, season one is mostly decent in terms of character portrayals and has some of the best writing in the series. As I mentioned before, I think the writers were intentional with their decisions to paint Riven in a certain way, to have him say certain things, to give him certain skills that set him apart from the other characters, and in several ways, the narrative of his story gives us many details hinting at his background.

All in all, it's not strictly canon that Riven grew up financially lower class as we don't have any direct statements in the show about his background. However, I think there are more than enough allusions pointing to Riven having had to be independent and live in less-than-ideal circumstances with limited resources, so the idea of him having had a rough childhood (economically and otherwise) or being from the lower class at some point or another in his life is not unfounded. Personally, I think it's heavily implied.

#i'll try and add some more points later #winx club #winx #winx riven #winx meta #metas #riven meta #riven headcanons #winxmeta

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cerisia76 · 11 months

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the character everyone gets wrong

which ship fans are the most annoying?

what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

worst part of canon

worst part of fanon

it's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

part of canon you think is overhyped

your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

ship you've unwillingly come around to

Okay a character everyone gets wrong in winx club would definitly be... well it's a group of people but I really think people don't really give Wizards of the black circle the credit and recognition they deserve. Maybe it's because they come from season 4 that today more people like to bash but they actually were so interesting as villains. Like to me what makes them stand out is how they don't give a f^ck about the Winx. in the episode where the girls get their believix (still one of my favs) there is a moment where they have total control over the girls and Ogron basically says "don't be afraid they won't do anything to you, all that we want is Roxy". And actually they already told the girls they had nothing against them and well it is actually true. Like Valtor told Bloom he just wanted her to stay out of the way two seconds before making Aisha/Layla blind. Wizards started being really dangerous to the girls when they became an obstacle for them. They don't care about the Winx because they don't care about the Magical Dimension. They have something to do, a mission to complete and it's their goal. They also have one of the most interesting dynamic as a group and I feel people should talk about it more instead of... fangirling over Duman for the part that cares about the wizards. Nothing against him it's just that I feel like he's the least interesting in the group sorry not sorry.

Also Riven and Roy. Really should explain more about Roy. But I think your other questions can help me.

(tumblr had nothing better and as I'm on my computer I don't have my collection of gifs of them)

Which ship fans are the most annoying? Oh a though one because I don't really interact with fans of ships I don't like. However I will have to give the palm to some representative of the Rivusa fanbase and I'm sorry for you all Rivusa non-toxic fans who have to deal with such problematic people who think that defending a ship is insulting people. Also sorry to those who are good but I had many problems with some Bloom x put the name of the villain you prefer fans. Like sometimes I just want to talk but they take everything as an insult like when I ask "how did you come to ship Bloom with Valtor?" they see it has "lol how on earth can you be stupid enough to ship her with the guy responsible for her parents' fate". Once again not everyone but these fanbase were my worst experiences.

Bloom is basically me dealing with toxic fans

A character that the fandom made me hate: This time I have to go with Mirta. I never was a fan of Mirta but the way the fandom praises her made me feel so out of it that everytime I rewatched season one, I was trying to understand why fans loved her so much and the more I was rewatching, the more I hated this poor Mirta. Today i won't say I hate her because I feel like she had a pretty decent arc and a character that is good for a supportive character (not for a permanent member PLEASE DON'T) and she's cute but for a time I really couldn't stand her face because I felt like she was so overrated by the fandom it made her dislikable.

Worst part of canon: I would say the fact that instead of being very clear when they decided to do their soft reboot in season 5n they chose to do things without being clear enough. Plus they kept things from past seasons but with the new timeline it makes no sense and gives so many plot holes. Even if I kinda like season 5, this soft reboot is still the worst part of canon for me. Plus and this is unpopular as hell, Nabu and Layla's love story. I'm sorry to you fans of this ship who love to say it's the best love story of the franchise but I never was able to buy it. It came definitly out of nowhere, still is a part that annoys me in season 3 and was forced and way too fast. If they had introduced Nabu sooner in season 3 or made them meet the group sooner maybe that impression I had of being forced something in my throat wouldn't have been there but it's here.

Obviously I also have to give Rivusa a palm but I would say the worst part of their story is THE FACT THAT THEY GOT BACK TOGETHER IN SEASON 4. They both finally had grow up and were mature enough to realise that they weren't good for each other. But instead of accepting it... well they got back together.

Look how babyboy is adorable here holding this thing (don't really know what it is supposed to be like it's a wall but not a wall) like it's his teddy bear... Adorable.

Worst part of fanon: The way some people can't stop fighting for their headcanons against other people. Like we all have the right to have our headcanons it doesn't mean we should fight. For example I have the headcanon that Timmy and Tecna are an asexual couple and it goes against many of my friends headcanon that Tecna is aroace. I will never fight with them about it because it's an headcanon. Just respect your neighbour and let him ship Driven without pissing him off for no reason.

It's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on Roy. This guy isn't bland and without a personality like some of his haters may say. He's a sweet guy who never liked a girl before and falls in love with his princess who is also dealing with grief and he's respectful enough to not want to piss her off or be too much. If he got along with the girls and the guys even if this season and season 6 criminally lack of Specialist's friendship moments, it's because he's a sunny guy with a great humor and a personality that goes along with people. He's an extrovert who loves to go and talk with people discovering what interests them and who loves to try new things. And this is absolutely not in my headcanons that are really numerous for him, all of this is shown in the show when he's here and people should stop hating on him just because he appeared after Nabu's death. Plus this reason to hate him is also unfair considering he has nothing to do with the writers decision to kill Nabu in season 4 (unpopular opinion: they were right to do this).

He has so few gifs it hurts me.

Part of canon you think is overhyped: Season 3 and Enchantix. Don't get me wrong, the concept and execution of Enchantix was great and I loved it, it's definitly one of the best transformations in Winx Club. But it also has problematic parts that are for me the way Tecna, Stella, Musa and Layla have clothes that are way too over-sexualising them.And I say that with Stella's enchantix being my favourite transformation for her. An yes I know every transformation has this problem at least once but the thing is that here, it's on almost everyone and it's so obvious. People keep saying it's the most incredible transformation and the "only one where they look like fairies" as if weknew what fairies look like. My fairies are Tinkerbell and her friends and Enchantix doesn't look like them. But WHATEVER. It's a good transformation, definitly has the best way to be earned but is that a crime when someone says it's not their favourite? No and we shouldn't see so many comments saying "if his/her favourite transformation isn't Enchantix...." on youtube rankings of the transformations.

But it's also relevant for season 3. The thing is that season 3 is good but wants to do too much at the same time and loses its own timeline. The first part of the season varies from episodes were everything happens at the same time and others where the plot installs itself. Which leads to the second part of the season where everything goes downhill with many boring episodes and a rushed and deceiving ending. I don't get why people praise it so much because objectively it's not better than seasons 1 and 2 and subjectively not than season 4 in my opinion. It looks like the season was being written episode by episode and suddenly they realised they had ten episodes to conclude the season and started doing WTF and rushed endings of arcs. Plus I don't like the Water Stars scenaristic facility. Sorry not sorry.

Let's be honest, if she had the choice, Tecna wouldn't wear it because it's absolutely not practical. And I also dislike how they decided her hair was too short. Magix Winx, Believix and later seasons transformations except Harmonix showed you could do a transformation with her hair not changing from the rest of the season.

Your favourite part of canon that everybody else ignores: For once I'm not gonna go with easy choices like season 4, Wizards of the Black circle or Roy. I'm gonna go with a plot point everybody keep forgetting and that is: Darcy is a fucking romantic girl. Did she chose power over her boyfriend? Yes but it doesn't mean she's not a romantic person. In season 1, the way she falls for Riven everytime she sees him shows how she wants to build something with him. In season 2 she mentions at the start of the first or second episode that she sometimes thinks of a simple life when she was watching that in love couple (it was a movie I think) and her sisters KNOW she is romantic because they keep laughing at her about it. I'm really sad they decided to forget about that later because it made her character more complete. She's kind of a bitch who dreams of power but she also has a soft heart beating for romantic comedies and who sometimes allows itself (the heart) to dream of a romance. With Riven of course.

Ship you'v unwillingly come around to: There are many but I would still say that the one I wish I never saw is Faragonda x Bloom. How gross it is to imagine the influence this woman has on Bloom since she's sixteen turning into a gross love story? I want to forget it. I do ship Bloom with people and considering the only canon Winx pairings I like in the original group are Brandon/Stella and Tecna/Timmy (Flora/Helia is fine but I prefer her with someone who wakes her baddie and flirty side like Anagan for example or Layla). Bloom to me would fit SO WELL with Nabu. Like he is the soft guy who understands her but also the one who's not afraid to tell her she fucked up and who would treat her right and not let her insecurities win because that's what Sky does by NEVER putting a term to Diaspro's fantasy. But this is mostly linked to the writers loving to torture Bloom and Diaspro.

And this is both Bloom after she finally found peace in a relationship and me after finishing to answer these questions by talking WAY too much!

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