lunabee34: (Default)
lunabee34 ([personal profile] lunabee34) wrote2006-01-18 08:58 am

Much Ado About Riley

I've been thinking a good deal about Riley's character and his place in slash fandom after last week's [livejournal.com profile] club_joss discussion of [livejournal.com profile] trepkos's "Moonstruck I." He's so often cast as the villain of a Spander or Spangel piece (and not just the villain, but the Villian LOL), that I had never read a slash story in which Riley played a positive role until [livejournal.com profile] emella pointed me to [livejournal.com profile] eliade's Reprise.

Many of the Buffyverse fandom classics (I'm thinking [livejournal.com profile] jameschick's Quantum Xander and Lazuli's Repossession) are built around the premise that Riley is really a huge, evil sadist. And I'm not saying that's wrong; I enjoyed reading both those stories very much. I think that pushing the boundaries of characterization is really what fanfic is about. For this same reason, I enjoy stories that explore Angelus equally as well as those that focus on Angel. One thing I think the Buffyverse hammers home is that we all have an inner Angelus just waiting to come out to play.

When I was watching the show, I never really felt very strongly about Riley's character; I don't like the actor all that much. He's never really pushed my buttons. But I certainly didn't hate him or anything. What I found after reading so much fanfic that cast him in a negative role is that I started to hate Riley's character unreasonably. When I found Reprise, I had to step back and think, "Now why do I hate Riley so much? He's really kinda goofy and noble." LOL

After that, I began to enjoy Riley more. I don't like Marc Blucas's execution of the character; that doesn't mean that the character isn't really complex and fascinating (guy living a double life, gives it all up for what's right, etc).

So, after that long-winded intro:
1. Riley as the slash bad guy
2. fanfic affecting character perception

Discuss!

[identity profile] trepkos.livejournal.com 2006-01-19 02:21 pm (UTC)(link)
I meant, of all our brains, men and women, BTW.

[identity profile] emella.livejournal.com 2006-01-19 02:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, It's a predated thought process that's been ingrained since like the dawn of time, so it's hard to stop from immediately going to that place.

I agree with you on the recognizing, it probably would open peoples eyes to how they view the world and others. ;)