The opening dream is fantastic... Xander's voice is so obvious in his opening line that I would have recognized him anywhere, and I love that Riley's dreamself is so unflustered and confident, the way he's not at all surprised at Xander's appearance while he's showering. The fact that his initial woken reaction is disappointment about being interrupted rather than a freakout is refreshing, and it sounds like this is maybe not the first time he's had naughty dreams about Xander.
I really like how you've taken the time to nail your characterization of Riley; the way he strives for control and discipline, the way he believes ultimately in responsibility for your own actions; it all rings very true for me, and helps set the tone as clearly post-Initiative without needing to say it. He's still reeling from having some of his foundation beliefs shaken, and probably feeling as if he should have somehow been able to prevent or stop at least some of what happened.
I also love that you don't ignore Riley's obvious (to me) intelligence - yes, he was part of the Initiative, but he was an upperclassman and clearly had the knowledge to back that up. I hate when that side of him is just ignored, as if he was just a dumb soldier with a pasted-on "college guy" disguise, so I love that you have him continuing his education, even if he doesn't know what to do with it.
Hee for his twinge of resentment when Buffy wakes him, and the way his lovemaking with her is about proving something - to whom, Riley? As much equanimity as he has within his dreams, he's still clearly struggling with how much he's willing to admit to himself. Their familiarity in the dreams plays out like snapshots from an alternate universe, moments of what might have been, and as Xander begins including true details that Riley (probably) wouldn't know, that feeling gets stronger. And wow, just an excellent, *excellent* first time scene!
It seems plausible that as the dreams are becoming more explicit and more... real/persistent?... that Riley is having more denial now than he was initially, but it's still a little painful too. I adore poor, trapped Tara and oblivious Anya! Wow, that really should have been on the show, it seems inevitable.
While I'm not particularly a fan of Buffy/Riley, I do think you've done them a lot more credit than many authors would have. While yes, things are falling apart for them, it does seem as though Riley was truly in love with her, and in some ways still is. It gives him a credit and depth that many times is missing when stories cover how their relationship unraveled during this time period in canon, and I do like that.
And, whoo! Swimsuit Xander! Always a nice visual there :)
no subject
I really like how you've taken the time to nail your characterization of Riley; the way he strives for control and discipline, the way he believes ultimately in responsibility for your own actions; it all rings very true for me, and helps set the tone as clearly post-Initiative without needing to say it. He's still reeling from having some of his foundation beliefs shaken, and probably feeling as if he should have somehow been able to prevent or stop at least some of what happened.
I also love that you don't ignore Riley's obvious (to me) intelligence - yes, he was part of the Initiative, but he was an upperclassman and clearly had the knowledge to back that up. I hate when that side of him is just ignored, as if he was just a dumb soldier with a pasted-on "college guy" disguise, so I love that you have him continuing his education, even if he doesn't know what to do with it.
Hee for his twinge of resentment when Buffy wakes him, and the way his lovemaking with her is about proving something - to whom, Riley? As much equanimity as he has within his dreams, he's still clearly struggling with how much he's willing to admit to himself. Their familiarity in the dreams plays out like snapshots from an alternate universe, moments of what might have been, and as Xander begins including true details that Riley (probably) wouldn't know, that feeling gets stronger. And wow, just an excellent, *excellent* first time scene!
It seems plausible that as the dreams are becoming more explicit and more... real/persistent?... that Riley is having more denial now than he was initially, but it's still a little painful too. I adore poor, trapped Tara and oblivious Anya! Wow, that really should have been on the show, it seems inevitable.
While I'm not particularly a fan of Buffy/Riley, I do think you've done them a lot more credit than many authors would have. While yes, things are falling apart for them, it does seem as though Riley was truly in love with her, and in some ways still is. It gives him a credit and depth that many times is missing when stories cover how their relationship unraveled during this time period in canon, and I do like that.
And, whoo! Swimsuit Xander! Always a nice visual there :)