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I'm currently rewatching season 5 and the episode where Riley leaves just happened. The ending annoys me so much (even if does make sense). If Riley would just glimpse down, he would see Buffy there, doing exactly what he wanted: trying to give him a reason to stay.
Buffy isn't a perfect girlfriend but it's clear that she loves Riley and, more importantly, trusts him. Maybe she doesn't need to rely on him in a physical fight but she obviously believes that he's going to be there when she needs him (at least most of the time). She can't always lean on him, even when she wants to, but that has more to do with her own issues than her relationship with Riley.
The real problem is Riley's deeply rooted insecurity. He wants to be the one to protect her, especially in a physical sense, and feels weak, unimportant and emasculated if he can't do that. After meeting Angel, his insecurities really ramp up and he compares himself to him constantly. In his mind Buffy thinks he's inferior to Angel. When Buffy doesn't tell him everything or come to him with all of her emotional needs, he can't handle it.
Istead of addressing his issues, Riley blames Buffy. Buffy doesn't love him, Buffy doesn't need him, Buffy doesn't care about him, when really that's what he thinks and feels. He takes his feelings as fact rather than a reflection of his own insecurities. Even when presented with evidence of Buffy's feelings, he ignores it or twists it into further proof of his beliefs. He can betray Buffy's trust because he's convinced himself that Buffy doesn't really care about him.
From Buffy's side this is tragic: She's had to take care of her family and be strong for them, so she's had to hide her fears and pain. She's trying to keep Dawn safe. She has a lot on her plate and, understandably, hasn't really been able to spare much of her time or energy on Riley. She believes he understands and still will be there once things calm down. Then she finds out how wrong she was.
No matter what he says, Riley tries to put the blame for his actions on Buffy. He's so convinced Buffy doesn't love him that he isn't capable of listening to Buffy when she's telling him how she feels. He brings up his need to take care of her but, as Buffy kind of points out, it would really be her taking care of him by trying to fulfill that need. She's the Slayer and that's why she can't fully rely on anyone else. Riley wants something that Buffy can't give.
He then gives her an ultimatum: If she wants him to stay, she needs to give him a reason to do so. (Again, it's on her to save the relationship even though he's the one who broke her trust.) In reality, she can't give him a good enough reason to stay. This is all rooted in Riley's insecurity and Buffy can't fix that for him, no one can. Even if she showered him in love for the rest of eternity, it wouldn't change anything. It certainly hasn't before.
Still, she tries once again to prove to Riley that she loves him. She rushes to stop him from leaving but it's too late. No matter how hard she tries to yell, he can't hear her. And he doesn't look back.
I think Riley doesn't look back because he's certain that Buffy isn't there. He doesn't even glance back because that would mean he still has hope that Buffy loves him. The fact that she's there is proof that she does love him. Riley is blind to Buffy's love for him, so he can't see her.
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finleycannotdraw · 1 year ago
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I JUST THINK THAT. THEY.
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edwinisms · 4 months ago
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george rexstrew deserves awards for many things but i have to say. edwin’s bloodcurdling scream as niko gets killed deserves a whole award unto itself. like. that scream did not feel at all like a tv show scream. to a somewhat jarring degree. and i can’t express how much I respect that
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nerdy-hyperfixations · 2 months ago
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Love triangle? More like FUMBLE triangle
Because Bill fumbled Ford, who fumbled Fiddleford, who fumbled his wife
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blaithnne · 3 months ago
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Good luck babe
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avanii · 1 year ago
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Typhlosions again, now with bonus Quilava and Cyndaquil! Their shapes are just SO satisfying to draw. Hope ya enjoy my more realistic take on these Pokemon :D
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crowkip · 2 years ago
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wayne boys do it best
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oposssumsaucee · 4 months ago
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I don't know what fucks me up more, the fact that Constructs just have a Secret Ribcage Pocket for storage or the fact that it's so underutilized that MB forgets an entire FutureTech WiFi Extender in there for an absurd amount of time. You're telling me it's not jostling in there??? Is the construct equivalent of a Glove Compartment lined with velvet??? The company would never. Thunk thunk bitch your secret best friend ham radio is audible whenever you run but no one's brave enough to make smalltalk with you about it.
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sluttyten · 2 months ago
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I was working on a new fic that I was really looking forward to, but in light of recent revelations, I'm gonna be taking a step back I think
also i removed him from the member masterlist and all of his fics, excluding things like YIMA and the poly series which I'm considering re-editing to get rid of him
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napping-sapphic · 10 months ago
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Sooo NONE of you want to fall deeply unhealthily in love with me rn……?
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linka-from-captain-planet · 5 months ago
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BG3 needed a fancy gala mission for very important plot reasons and not just because
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Florrick in gown
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catwyk · 6 months ago
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huh. there's something on my face
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whatsjulietslastname · 5 months ago
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“Max Caulfield will have new love interests”
Don’t look so sad, I’m never leaving you.
Max…I’ll always be with you.
I wanted to live an adventure…but not without you.
You make me feel like I know what I’m doing.
And you make me feel like I have a reason to stay in Arcadia Bay.
My powers might not last, Chloe.
That’s okay, we will. Forever.
I’m so glad you’re my partner in crime.
As long as you’re my partner in time.
And, Max Caulfield…don’t you forget about me.
Never.
Oh, okay.
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verdantmeadows · 2 years ago
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To me the joy and beauty of vocal synthesizers has always been that they don't sound real and exploring that to create artistic expression that can't be achieved by human voices, so seeing them become more and more realistic is disheartening, almost? Especially since a lot of artists make the same voice banks sound so different and have their own personal charm. I'm glad that people will be able to make things that sound realistic, but I'm worried that songs that intentionally play out of sounding as realistic as possible will be sidelined, discouraged, no longer created, impossible to find, or unsupported by fans of vocal synthesizers. I don't want things to just push towards being as realistic as possible. There is beauty in how everyone's usage of the same voice banks sound different. There is beauty in the lack of realistic sounding vocals in vocal synthesizers.
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definitely-jax · 7 months ago
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frnkiebby · 4 months ago
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pretty sure that candle needs to be open if you really wanna smell it frank~🎃
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