Spuffy, Bangel or Ruffy?

[buffymanic]

Yeh I agree all of Buffy's relationships we're vital to her development. Each brought something new to the show and each gave Buffy another avenue to go down.

I guess its similar in our own lives, each relationship we have moves us forward and we learn something new.

[Glenn]

I avoid pretty much every shipping debate you come across on forums. Who loved Buffy more, who loved Angel more all that stuff. Who cares who she loved more, every relationship she was in helped her along her path. Including her thing with Parker. though i hate the guy he played a vital part. I am a huge Riley fan and think that what he had with Buffy was just as good as with the others

[buffymanic]

yes I'd definately agree Glenn.

Parker was something that 99% of people go through at some point in their lives and with Buffy being all about exploreing real life experiences all be it via monsters, it fitted perfectly into Buffy's development

[slayerthe]

Who cares who she loved more,

That's just the thing about shippers, we do care . I don't think it's something you can really understand unless you are one. It's like an anger you just can't explain lol.

[buffymanic]

I know you want to stay loyal to your ship. but if you look at it objectively I'm sure you could see the value in every relationship! Imagine the crap I go through being a Bangel/ Ruffy shipper equally! lol

[slayerthe]

Oh I still value all of the ships. Except for one. Each helped both characters develope to some extent, and each ship is special in it's own way. But I'll always see Buffy/Angel shine above the rest - because I am a shipper.

I think most people are calming down about the whole Riley deal, I myself never had a probelm with him til season five. In fact, I named my dog after him . That same dog who is now throwing up so I must go!

[Glenn]

I like all the ships in there own right. They all provided vital character growth for Buffy which was vital at the time. I wouldnt say i liked any over another but i always liked the rather relaxed atmosphere you got off of Buffy and Riley. It wasnt overly dramatic or violent. It just seemed very normal, which was good to see after Buffy/Angel.

[Beck]

I appreciate all ships in the Jossverse for what they contribute to the overall story and progression of the characters, all were important. But some were painful to watch - like Buffy/Angel imo. The over abundance of extreme cheesy lines and the fact that it went out of its way to try to be the 'true love' romance - its annoying and boring to watch. It has good moments, but mostly wasnt of much interest to me. When I was younger it was, but as I have gotten older its just unrealistic and boring. And the true love angle annoys the shit out of me - Buffy was 16, and it was shown over later seasons that while Angel was still in her heart, she had well and truly moved on and was no longer 'in' love with him.

Riley I hated at the beginning. He was boring. He put me to sleep. And his over-machoness annoyed me a lot. On multiple viewings, Riley grew on me and so did the Buffy/Riley relationship. And Buffy was happiest with Riley. That may have been because for the most part it wasn't as intense as her relationship with Angel, and then in a different way, Spike, but she was happy. Her misery in season 5 came from other problems, and yes Riley acted like an idiot and treated her badly towards the end with his vampire whores, but hey - both Spike and Angel tried to kill her.

Spike/Buffy I like because its not boring. She treats him like shit for much of their union in season 6 - I know he has no soul then but she used him even knowing how much he loved her because it made her feel better. And with no soul Spike could see no problem with that. In season 7 when he has a soul he admits that now it hurt him and he realised that it wasnt healthy for either of them. Their relationship in season 7 was one of trust, mutual respect, friendship and love. It grew so much from the purely physical relationship they shared in season 6. The AR (Attempted Rape) is unforgivable, but in the end Buffy is able to seperate that from who Spike later became.

I dont claim that Buffy has a true love on the show. She was still a young woman at the conclusion of Chosen, with her whole life still ahead of her. I dont believe she is meant to be with either Spike or Angel. And Riley is out, cause he got married

[Glenn]

Oo all very good points.

I agree that when i was first watching through Buffy i was entranced by the Buffy/Angel romance. I so desperately wanted them to work out, i dont know what kind of message Joss was sending out by having them not work out. That kind of love doesnt exist perhaps, or true love never lasts. Whatever it was i felt it was clearly over way before his arrival in Season 7.

Also i was a huge Riley hater first time round. I was still reeling from the loss of Angel and then here comes this guy out of nowhere putting the moves on Angel's girl lol. But i really do like what they had together. I didnt mind his over machoness because i can understand how it might be hard for an army trained 6 foot odd guy to accept the fact a 5:3 skinny girl could beat you down. But atleast he admitted that it was hard for him at first, but i dont hink he dwelt on it too long. I was sad to see him go, she really could have used him during season 5.

Ah Buffy/Spike. I would say this is one of the most controversial ships. Some people find it hard to accept their heroine boning the guy who has killed and tortured thousands of people. I dont think their was anything morrally right about the ship but damn it had chemistry on screen. Which for a tv show is obviously vital. I much preferred it in season 7 where i could more accept it as he was ensouled and i didnt have all these nagging thoughts about it while watching.

[Lizzie]

I'm not hating Riley so much anymore. I think he offered her stability, and a chance to have a bit of a 'normal' life. However, the slayer in her crushed any chance of ever having a really normal life, with a steady boyfriend etc.

[buffymanic]

I think that if Buffy had opened up to him a little more and not decided that she could do it all on here own, their relationships would have been the strongest in the Buffyverse. I think they we're well suited both mentally and physically and complimented each other.

It was obvious though that Joss didn't want Buffy in a stable relationship so would have ended them sooner or later, but it was good whilst it lasted

[Beck]

I don't think their relationship falling apart was all Buffy's fault. I agree she could have opened up to Riley more - but my god, her mother was sick and he wanted her to hold his hand! I understand him being hurt she wasn't confiding in him but he went about things very badly. Some people handle grief better on their own and don't realise they are shutting others out, he should just have been there for her instead of demanding to be there for her - let her come to him when she needed to, she also had her sister to take care of - and slayer duties, as well as the discovery her baby sister wasn't really her sister.

Riley was never able to cope well with Buffy being stronger than him, but he did try not to let it bother him. So credit for that. But his behaviour towards their break up is very bad. Not only did he basically cheat on her with vampires, he acted in a manner that he knew was wrong and would hurt Buffy deeply. So instead of talking to her about his insecurities and problems he goes behind her back with some vampire whores. And then comes the clincher - the ultimatum. He had no right to expect her to forgive him in an instant and threatening to leave ASAP instead of working it out, or trying to - shows he can't have cared enough to try. He gave her no oppurtunity to think things through. Getting married so shortly after leaving Buffy further strengthens my opinion. He loved Buffy, but he didnt want to live in her shadow and imo did a cop out with his leaving, laying the blame and decision on her because he didnt want to deal with it. Instead he hides back in the military.

Woah... I'm actually not a Riley or Ruffy hater I swear I have rants like this about every character and ship

[buffymanic]

ok firstly Riley was the last to know about Buffy's mother, so he couldn't just be there for her because everytime he tried she blew him off! I understand about Buffy's reaction over Dawn, she didn't know who to trust and probably didn't want to put Riley in danger but she didn't have to go to Spike everytime there was a problem....... hello! try your boyfriend once in a while

I agree in the end Riley was wrong, he shouldn't have gone to the whores, he shouldn't have given the ultimatum. But I can't fault him for going back to the army, it was he had been brought up in, its where he felt most at home so its obvious that the place he would want to be

[Beck]

I'm not faulting him for going back to the army, I fault him for giving her half a day to either forgive him or he's gone. That was entirely unfair, no one could forgive something like that immediately! He basically gave up on their relationship then and there, and then 6 months later comes back married! I don't know when he was meant to have spent this "ages" getting over her like Sam claimed

[Glenn]

I dont think he wanted her to forgive him straight away. I think he wanted maybe some hint that they could perhaps work it out. If they couldnt then what exactly was he going to do. He didnt have a life in Sunnydale. This was struck home to him by Graham.

Graham "You know you dont belong here right? There's nothing for you here"
Riley "There's her"
Graham "Okay, so there's her, and?"

The army thing was a one time deal. Army was his life yet he was willing to give it up if he thought there was a chance that he and Buffy could maybe work it out. I think that shows what type of person Riley was and his strong feelings for Buffy

Riley made bad decisions and choices though, but i believe he was given a rew deal by Buffy for a long time. If you love someone as much as Riley clearly loved her yet you dont feel that same love coming back ("I just dont feel it") then its going to have serious negative implications on the relationship. Spike didnt help matters either.

[Kana]

I still think Sam was right. There was no bad guys in this situation. Riley wasn't really a jerk and I#m sure we can understand being with someone you love and have them be so distant. I agree it was difficult for Riley to say for someone who he didn't believe loved him. I think he'd rather the fights and rows as long as he knew she wanted to be with him. It's not even as if Riley didn't give her any indication but as much as love Buffy she sometimes fails to notice to obvious. The funny thing is both Spike (an relative outsider who is however very astute) and Xander could see what was happening. I'm not blaming Buffy but I don't think it's simply a case of Riley being the bad guy, I can really empathize with him.

[Beck]

I don't think either of them were the bad guy as such, they both didn't treat each other very well at times, but Riley's behaviour then was bad imo. He could have explained to Buffy it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, asked her if there was a chance with them, but he didn't. He said she either forgives him, or he leaves immediately. He didn't even try to contact her again right before he left.

[Glenn]

Yes perhaps Riley could have explained it better. Though in those tense arguementative moments we never seem to say the right thing Just what will prick up the ears of the person we are talking with. As far as not contacting her again thats an interesting one, it seems he didnt want to push it though it would have made more sense just to find her again and have one last heart to heart. Maybe he was scared that this time she really would take a shot at him

[Kana]

I think the Riley that came back was a little more mature. I don't think he was totally rational (few are all the time in love) I believe he could have handled it better but I see his story as a little tragic. There was so much to which he adjusted and Buffy was having one of the hardest times of her life. I honestly believe that if Riley and Buffy had a chance that they could have grown into something great (although permenant is uncertain, but what isn't?).

I really liked Riley in As You Were. He had grown up a mile and it couldn't have been nice to see someone he respected as much as Buffy in bed with Spike (remember he wouldn't have known the background and it played on all his old securities as well) but he was actually pretty non-judgemental about it even considering the 'Doc' revelation, this shows growth. Riley has worked on himself emotionally so he has few issues with Buffy now (even if it was surprisingly quick was Sam the rebound girl, never understood that) and he is able to move on. Perhaps this means if circumstances were different they could have made a shot of it but that would hardly be Jossian now would it?

[lina71]

Out of these three, I voted for Ruffy, and I'm NOT convinced about it!!
I gotta say though, I'm NOT a Buffy fan, and since I love both Spike and Angel in two different positions, I don't wish to see her with any of them so I went with Ruffy . Not that I like Riley any bit.

I think Spuffy was too violent, she didn't deserve all the love he had for her, she didn't deserve the passion, and all the devotion and loyalty!! She treated him like crap, and never gave him the respect he earned, up until the end, the VERY end.

I think Bangel is as boring as hell, with all due respect Bangel fans. I never thought it was believable and never felt the love between them. Maybe because I hated how they portrayed Angel in Btvs. When he earned his own series , he became that enigmatic full of charm and charisma vampire that really could compete with Spike, in my book at least. But as far as the relationship goes, Bangel doesn't do it for me at all..

Coming to Ruffy, it's... well.. snooozy. Riley isn't the most fascinating character in the world, in fact he's the least exciting character in both series combined. He lacked charm and charisma. He lacked, well, being there, proving his presence. I don't know what to blame, the "character" or the "actor"...