Re: Riley's choices were also somewhat limited, however -- ATPo Discussion Forum

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Date Posted: 12:38:01 10/31/05 Mon
Author: Celebaelin
Subject: Re: Riley's choices were also somewhat limited, however
In reply to: Sunshine 's message, "Re: Bastard Xander" on 11:23:27 10/28/05 Fri

I can't accept that Riley's ultimatum to Buffy comes as any sort of surprise. Sure, it is an ultimatum and as such an unwise and inflamatory approach, way worse than, say, begging but it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. The fact that it is a surprise to Buffy is a reflection of just how distanced she is from him, how she has come to take it for granted that he will be there for her when she wants/allows him to be. In this respect what Xander says is exactly what Buffy needs to hear and what Riley can't tell her except by his actions.

It starts in Real Me

BUFFY: Giles is on his way to pick me up.
RILEY: Oh, slayer training.
BUFFY: Slayer shopping, actually, but equally as important.

Don't over-react, so shopping beats 'let's hang' for once, no big deal. As things turn out though NOT a good sign.

The Replacement

RILEY: Buffy... if you led a perfectly normal life, you wouldn't be half as crazy as you are. I gotta have that. I gotta have it all. I'm talkin' toes, elbows, the whole bad-ice-skating-movie obsession, everything. There's no part of you I'm not in love with.

Buffy looks up at him. He glances at her. She smiles a little, then looks out her window.

Yikes! Bad News!

XANDER: Still, I do envy you sometimes. (Riley looks up at him) I mean for the sanity. Not that I'm still into Buffy. (quickly) Not that I ever was.
RILEY: (grinning) Hey, I'm well aware of how lucky I am. Like, lottery lucky. Buffy's like nobody else in the world. When I'm with her it's like ... it's like I'm split in two. Half of me is just ... on fire, going crazy if I'm not touching her. The other half ... is so still and peaceful ... just perfectly content. Just knows: this is the one. (Smiles a little, continues packing for a moment, then looks up at Xander again.) But she doesn't love me.

You don't say!

OOMM

BUFFY: Would it keep you out of my way?
RILEY: She's right. You shouldn't be out here when she's patrolling.

Buffy turns to Riley in exasperation as if she's going to say something, but she doesn't.

SPIKE: Oh! I saw that. Looks like neither boy's entirely welcome. You should take him home, Slayer. Make him stay there. I've got knitting needles he can borrow.

No secrets here.

BUFFY: So you have this all figured out? I'm bailing because you're not in the super club.
RILEY: (shrugs) It's human nature.
BUFFY: (angrily) Don't Psych 101 me. (Riley looks away) Not now. Not after everything that ... Nobody has ever known me the way you do. Nobody. (Riley doesn't look at her) I've opened up to you in ways that I've never opened up to ... God, you're just sitting back there thinking that none of this means anything to me.
RILEY: (still not looking at her) I never said that.
BUFFY: (teary-eyed) Because it obviously doesn't mean anything to you. Do you really think so little of me-
RILEY: Buffy.
BUFFY: No! No. Do you think that I spent the last year with you because you had super powers? If that's what I wanted, then I'd be dating Spike. (quietly) Riley, I need you. (He looks at her, looks apprehensive) I need you with me ... and I need you healthy. But if you wanna throw it all away because you don't trust me, then ... (firmly) then I'm still gonna make you go to that doctor.

Hmmmm

Family

RILEY: Every time I think I'm getting close to you ... (shakes head) I gotta take off. (Gets up)
BUFFY: (gets up to follow) Wait! What?
RILEY: (walking toward front door) I'll call you later.
BUFFY: Riley! (He stops walking) I *want* you to help. I'm not-
RILEY: Yeah. Know you got a lot on your mind. You decide you wanna let me in on any of it, (opens door) let me know. I'll come running.

And in Triangle the episode after ITW

DAWN: You took down his pictures.
BUFFY: Yeah.
DAWN: I ... I think I would've done that sooner. Like, boom! "Don't wanna see that face again."
BUFFY: It wasn't like that. I was never angry with him. (sighs) Okay, that's a lie. But it's not like I don't want to see his face.
DAWN: I was just starting to kinda like the guy, and then ... gone. So fast.
BUFFY: It wasn't really so fast. Him leaving. According to everyone who isn't me, it was kind of gradual.
DAWN: Oh. Does that make it any better?

Dawn sits on the end of the bed.

BUFFY: No.
DAWN: Because you should have noticed earlier?
BUFFY: Stop being insightful. It's creepy. (Dawn continues looking at her. Buffy speaks more softly.) It hurts. In all kinds of horrible ways. In the way where I'm furious at him ... in the way where I blame myself ... and all the little ways I imagine ... how I could have fixed things.

So to my mind if buffy was being truthful to herself and others she shouldn't have bothered going to the helicopter because in fact it'd been a long time since she'd been bothered about Riley except as a friend and friendship wasn't the question. If she'd been truthful earlier the whole thing would have been a lot easier on everyone.

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Replies:

Oh, and he was a convenient, low maintainance, relaxing sexual partner (NT) -- Celebaelin, 12:50:33 10/31/05 Mon
But consider the context of what Buffy is going through -- manwitch, 14:10:51 10/31/05 Mon
- Stressful times -- Celebaelin, 14:26:49 10/31/05 Mon
  - very funny -- manwitch, 13:47:04 11/01/05 Tue
    - Re: very funny -- Finn Mac Cool, 17:04:51 11/01/05 Tue
      - I think your analogy is too favorable to Riley -- Sophist, 17:55:42 11/01/05 Tue
        Re: I think your analogy is too favorable to Riley -- Finn Mac Cool, 20:45:49 11/01/05 Tue
        Suck jobs -- Celebaelin, 05:15:14 11/02/05 Wed
        Re: Suck jobs -- manwitch, 05:43:39 11/02/05 Wed
        Zed's dead (NT) -- Celebaelin, 06:26:18 11/02/05 Wed
        There is a certain Owenosity about him -- Sophist, 08:30:56 11/02/05 Wed
        Re: There is a certain Owenosity about him -- Finn Mac Cool, 11:31:22 11/02/05 Wed
      - Our difference is just too fundamental I guess -- manwitch, 05:25:03 11/02/05 Wed
        Re: Our difference is just too fundamental I guess -- Finn Mac Cool, 11:47:03 11/02/05 Wed
        Re: Our difference is just too fundamental I guess -- Sunshine, 12:06:49 11/02/05 Wed
        Oops, screwed up the italics - was suppoesed to be -- Sunshine, 12:08:49 11/02/05 Wed
    - Boy or toy? -- Celebaelin, 06:07:55 11/02/05 Wed
      - Buffy is better off without Riley -- manwitch, 06:19:22 11/02/05 Wed
        SG orgy -- Celebaelin, 06:33:42 11/02/05 Wed
        Re: SG orgy -- manwitch, 09:00:40 11/02/05 Wed
        Xander is Buffy? -- Sunshine, 11:11:31 11/02/05 Wed
        I didn't write that (NT) -- Hini Nar, 16:10:22 11/02/05 Wed

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