Riley Stavros: God of manly gay guys, homo sex, male beauty (the Hunk variety specifically) and sports.
Riley Stavros, aka The Incredible Hunk. SEX GOD. He is one of the best characters ever! We love how he just so happens to be awesome, and we just
want to take him in a burlap sack in keep him in our bathtubs.
He, along with all the other good characters was majorly fucked over once Degrasshit started. Now that Argy's left, the only competent male actors still on the show are Justin and Daniel.
Biased hatedumb
I wanna start this rant off by saying that the biased morons openly admit that the main reason for the hate is because they're hypersensitive to any criticism towards Eels and Drouche. Right, because two wrongs totally make a right. Okay, on with the rant!
"ZANE SI 2 GUD FOR RILEE!!1!1111"
Oh bull-fucking-shit. Zane was a judgemental asshat who never appreciated Riley. I can understand his initial pissiness towards Riley in "In Your Eyes," because he left him with the rent-a-cop, but this can't be pointed out enough, RILEY HAS BEEN TRAINED IN HIS ANGER MANAGEMENT CLASSES TO AVOID CONFLICT. HE WAS DOING WHAT HE WAS TAUGHT TO DO.
Lest we forget when Riley was being gaybashed by a homophobe, Zane did not only not jump to Riley's defense, but he used this time when Riley was most vulnerable to try and guilt-trip him into coming out. Great boyfriend my fuckin' white ass
On a related note, when Riley BRIEFLY joined in in teasing Zane in the locker room, while not excusable, it was understandable. It's normal for athletes to tease each other, and the one gay guy we had in my weight training class made gay jokes along with everyone else. I've no doubt in my mind that Riley assumed that Zane would be used to it (a reasonable assumption, given that Zane's been involved in sports, probably as long as Riley has)
Piley, aka the greatest Degrassi couple that should've happened.
. However, when it was made clear that Zane was most certainly not used to it, Riley not only fet immediate remorse, he actually went to brave lengths to eliminate locker room homophobia and beat up Owen in order to defend his boyfriend's honor.
"Holy shit! So THAT'S why they call you Big Ben!"
Compare this to Zane, who never apologized for his behavior when Riley was being gaybashed, or stepped up to defend his so-called beloved from said homophobe.
Zane has consistently pressured Riley into doing things he does not want to do (including important stuff like coming out) and shown no remorse for his actions. He gave Riley an ultimatum (basically, "Make this terrifying leap of faith or else I won't love you anymore."), and after Riley revealed his homosexuality to the entire school, Riley, ever self-conscious said something along the lines of "I don't know why you keep giving me chances," and Zane is all like "Lawz, Idfk either." Damn it, I was trying SOOOOOOOOOOO hard to like Zane but man did I want reality warping powers so I could go inside the TV and beat some sense into him.
People bitch about how he didn't want to come out to his parents, but again, this is a perfectly reasonable fear, given the reaction of his mother. Just because Zane leads a charmed home life doesn't mean other people are so fortunate. Try for a little empathy.
Also, notice how Riley basically sacrificed his social life for Zane. Riley pretty much lost all his friends when he came out (notice how we never hear from him again once he comes out). Yet nary a word of complaint towards Zane.
There's that one time that he didn't want to go to the art show, but that seems out of character to me. This show LOVES to demonize and hate on Riley, and this was a prime opportunity to show it, him being a caring, adoring boyfriend be damned.
I have a theory that Zane is supposed to the audience's self-insert, much like how Clare is the audience's self-insert in the ECrap fiasco, and how Bella Swan is a self-insert in Twilight. We know almost nothing about Zane, and indeed he hardly does anything aside from being a judgemental jerk. However, the key difference here between Zane and Bella/Clurr is that with Clare and Bella, their respective men are said to be "too good for them." This is in stark contrast to Zane, where the show unfairly boosters the audience's ego and states that Riley is not good enough for Zane/the audience, despite being shown the complete opposite. I think you can see this in people's reaction to them breaking up for a second time. There was shitload of fandom hurt (me included) whenever Ziley broke up for the second time, even moreso than EClurr. For me (Squall speaking here, durr), it was because I cared about Riley and I so desperately want him to be happy. But I have the feeling that for the audience, it's because they have, in a sense, lost their wonderful man. I think people realize on a subconscious level that Riley is a wondferful, caring boyfriend, which would explain the reaction to when he broke up with the self-insert. Also, I think this is true, because, let's face it, Ziley is a crappy couple (and it's Zane's fault). Plus, when you take into account that in Yaoi, the Uke is usually used as the stand-in for the female audience, well...
Zane honey, you're lucky your universe is almost nothing like real life. If Riley isn't good enough for you, there are plenty of people who think he's wonderful (myself included... or possibly Peter) and would've swooped down and swept him off his feet when you broke his heart. And when you finally realized what you missed out on, it would be too late, because Riley would finally be someone who appreciates him for the fabulous person he is.
RILEE IZ BROIN!11`1111111
It's hardly his fault if the biased "writers" from Teennick refuse to give him a decent plot. Remember at the end of In Your Eyes, he came out in season 9. But then they shoved him back in the closet because it would save themselves the HORROR of having to actually BE CREATIVE in an LGBT character's story.
Also, keep in mind here that having a LGBT character who is bullied and victimized is very "in" right now. It would've been comically out of character for Riley to put up with bullying, and thus they have litte use for him. New Degrassi is incredibly mainstream.
MAROC IZ BETTTTUUUUUUUH!!!!111121!
Maybe so, but you have to remember that Marco's story happened over SEVERAL SEASONS, and that was back in the Golden Days before Teennick ruined the show.
Also, keep in mind here that EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MARCO'S PLOTS SOMEHOW RELATED TO HIS SEXUALITY. The only one I can remember that didn't relate to his sexuality is the gambling storyline. He was very much the token gay character, just as Riley was, as just as Adam is the token transgendered.
RILEE IZ MAEN1111111111111111111111
On occasion, he's been a jerk, but you have to keep in mind that considering he's been told that he's an abomination his entire life, he's actually amazingly nice considering what he's been through. Also, he made up with Peter, and Sav was being a dick (and he was on steroids... And before anyone laughs at him being on steroids because he thought they would turn him straight, you might as well laugh at Marco being gay-bashed). Fiona was stomping all over his false hope of being "cured;" doesn't excuse his actions, but it was coming from a place of pain and fear, unlike certain other characters I could mention.
Also, keep in mind this fucking DEGRASSI we're talking about here. Compare Riley to other characters like Emma, Spinner, Jay, Eli, Drew, Craig, Ashley, Peter, Jimmy (Hell even JT had his moments where he bullied Toby) and his positively SAINT-LIKE in comparison (even though he's not holey. If you get that reference, I love you).
RIELE IS A MATEHAED/STPUID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
As compared to who? Riley was seen reading a book (not school required) at one point, and actually knew what the hell he was doing in that pickle project. If anything he's probably the smartest jock on the show to date, next to Zane.
EH BULLIED DERW-BABEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~!111!
Oh please. Drew deserved it. If there's anything I can't stand, it's when a bully plays the victim when the real victim retaliates. That makes me fantasize about going on a full-blown Movie!Alessa revenge spree (if you know what Alessa I'm talking about without having to look it up, again I love you.).
Well now, I think that's everything. If I missed anything, please inform me down in the comments. I challenge anyone who disagrees with me to a reasonable discussion. Note that "reasonable" does not include ganging up on a lone user, Ad Hominems or whinings about freedom of speech. Yes, applies to me as well. I guarantee you that trolling and disrespect of another user on this wiki get you an IP banhammer, and nothing else. You will not be banned or harrassed for disagreeing with the majority or the "popular kids."
If anyone can comply by these rules, I welcome the potential debates.
Quotes
Riley: "Mom I'm gay."
Riley's mom: "You don't know what you are!"
Riley: "I don't know who I am?! I'm the Swan Queen! You're the one who's in denial!"
Speaks for itself.
Riley, whenever he's an adult and in the pros. Probably left Zane's naggy, bitchy ass among the ghosts of his pasts for a guy who actually has things in common with him.
