(no subject)
THINGS I HAVE LEARNED THIS WEEK:
-It is very exciting when blueberries go on sale, but buying three extra boxes and freezing them does not end well. Oops.
-Wearing black clothes is generally not a wise idea when one is cat sitting. It becomes even more unfortunate when it also happens to coincide with the week one has to buy a new lint roller.
-It snowed all Friday and Saturday but the sidewalks were more or less cleared by today when I emerged from hibernation and my bus showed up right on time this afternoon. SOMETIMES I JUST FEEL LIKE I NEED TO REMIND THE WORLD THAT CANADIANS ARE BADASS WHEN IT COMES TO DEALING WITH SNOW OK WE DON'T HAVE A LOT ELSE.
Anyway, I have a fandom thing I want to post about.
My Unpopular The Vampire Diaries Opinions:
1). I ship Stefan/Elena like burning and I think that they have one of the healthiest teen relationships on TV and certainly one of the most functional and trusting human/vampire relationships I’ve ever seen. And despite being generally healthy and functional, I find them interesting and compelling and think that the two actors have tons of chemistry. Which goes to show that healthy relationships with resolved UST do not have to be boring. BUT WHERE IS THE FIC, FANDOM? D:
2). I find Stefan to be the more interesting Salvatore brother. I know the “good vampire” trope has been done to death, but TVD put their own spin on it. Stefan is serious, but he doesn’t brood. He can be overprotective as a boyfriend, but he doesn’t sit around moping about how Elena will wither and die in front of him or about how he should leave her for her own good. And he actually has his own friends and his own set path of ideals outside of Elena and his love for her. Plus he has a hidden human blood-addict psycho hidden inside of him and glimpses of psycho!Stefan are always both unexpected and delightful. How much do I want to know more about Stefan: The Early Bloody Years? THIS MUCH.
3). One of the things I find problematic about Damon’s character arc (and the show in general) is his patterned behaviour of violence against women and how few consequences he’s ever faced for it. One of the most disturbing and triggering scenes for me is in 1x15 when Damon is feeding/having sex with the orgy of sorority girls, but hey, it’s okay because he’ll erase their memories later. We even have Stefan making excuses about his behaviour-he’s upset about Katherine, it’s his way of dealing, this might even mean he’s growing a heart. There’s zero exploration of the consent issues or even any implication that what Damon is doing is rape and not okay. It’s probably the only episode of the series I cannot watch because that scene disturbs me on such a visceral level.
I find the show has an overall problematic attitude towards violence against women, and obviously the writers do not think Damon’s treatment of women will hinder his redemption arc or popularity among the general audience. Sadly, they are also correct, which in of itself says something about the way violence against women is viewed by society at large.
One day I would like to write a piece of meta about how the show displays a pattern of Damon not facing consequences when it comes to violence against women (e.g. his raping/feeding on Caroline, killing/turning Vicki, trying to kill Bonnie, feeding Elena his blood and threatening to kill her, the orgy of girls in 2x15, killing Lexi, killing Gina Torres in 1x11 etc.) versus how he actually does face consequences when it is a man that he hurts (Elena finally only gets mad at him when Damon kills her brother versus how she defended him when he killed Lexi, Alaric comes after him to avenge his wife, Mason Lockwood retaliates against him, etc.). It’s a pattern I find deeply disturbing and tbh I don't even know how much I want to delve into it in case it dampers my enjoyment of the show (which it hasn't yet).
4). I have so many ~feelings~ on Damon/Elena, I don’t even know where to start. See number 3 for the underlying reasons why, but in general I feel so left out of the fannish devotion to this pairing. I enjoy most of their interactions because they do have a lot of chemistry.... but there’s nothing all that romantic about it to me? I can’t get past seeing Damon as a classically abusive boyfriend and so while I (usually) enjoy the way they interact on the show, I can’t really get onboard the POOR BB HE JUST LOVES HER SO MUCH SO HE DESERVES HER train.
5). THAT SAID while by any standard, I would probably be on Team Stefan, I don't feel like I watch the show with STEFAN VS DAMON in mind because after all I just want them to love each other and be proper brothers again, so I generally think of myself as being on Team Elena. And in the end, much as I like Stefan, Elena is my favourite and hopefully will be for a long time to come.
6). While objectively I recognize that everyone on TVD is ridiculously attractive, none of the guys are really my “type” (which is, btw, the dorky nerdy type with glasses). There are a few scenes of Paul Wesley in a suit where I think “...mmmm yes” and also he has a nice back, but that is about it. And while I understand that Ian Somerhalder is hot by any standard, again he is not really my “type.”
7). I don’t really get the fandom hate-on for Bonnie. W/E W/E fandom. Sometimes I wonder if the fandom hate for Bonnie is connected to the fact that Bonnie is the only character who still holds Damon to account for his past, but IDK.
And a fic rec: Four Letter Words by miraxcorran, a very lovely Caroline character study piece up to 2x11.
-It is very exciting when blueberries go on sale, but buying three extra boxes and freezing them does not end well. Oops.
-Wearing black clothes is generally not a wise idea when one is cat sitting. It becomes even more unfortunate when it also happens to coincide with the week one has to buy a new lint roller.
-It snowed all Friday and Saturday but the sidewalks were more or less cleared by today when I emerged from hibernation and my bus showed up right on time this afternoon. SOMETIMES I JUST FEEL LIKE I NEED TO REMIND THE WORLD THAT CANADIANS ARE BADASS WHEN IT COMES TO DEALING WITH SNOW OK WE DON'T HAVE A LOT ELSE.
Anyway, I have a fandom thing I want to post about.
My Unpopular The Vampire Diaries Opinions:
1). I ship Stefan/Elena like burning and I think that they have one of the healthiest teen relationships on TV and certainly one of the most functional and trusting human/vampire relationships I’ve ever seen. And despite being generally healthy and functional, I find them interesting and compelling and think that the two actors have tons of chemistry. Which goes to show that healthy relationships with resolved UST do not have to be boring. BUT WHERE IS THE FIC, FANDOM? D:
2). I find Stefan to be the more interesting Salvatore brother. I know the “good vampire” trope has been done to death, but TVD put their own spin on it. Stefan is serious, but he doesn’t brood. He can be overprotective as a boyfriend, but he doesn’t sit around moping about how Elena will wither and die in front of him or about how he should leave her for her own good. And he actually has his own friends and his own set path of ideals outside of Elena and his love for her. Plus he has a hidden human blood-addict psycho hidden inside of him and glimpses of psycho!Stefan are always both unexpected and delightful. How much do I want to know more about Stefan: The Early Bloody Years? THIS MUCH.
3). One of the things I find problematic about Damon’s character arc (and the show in general) is his patterned behaviour of violence against women and how few consequences he’s ever faced for it. One of the most disturbing and triggering scenes for me is in 1x15 when Damon is feeding/having sex with the orgy of sorority girls, but hey, it’s okay because he’ll erase their memories later. We even have Stefan making excuses about his behaviour-he’s upset about Katherine, it’s his way of dealing, this might even mean he’s growing a heart. There’s zero exploration of the consent issues or even any implication that what Damon is doing is rape and not okay. It’s probably the only episode of the series I cannot watch because that scene disturbs me on such a visceral level.
I find the show has an overall problematic attitude towards violence against women, and obviously the writers do not think Damon’s treatment of women will hinder his redemption arc or popularity among the general audience. Sadly, they are also correct, which in of itself says something about the way violence against women is viewed by society at large.
One day I would like to write a piece of meta about how the show displays a pattern of Damon not facing consequences when it comes to violence against women (e.g. his raping/feeding on Caroline, killing/turning Vicki, trying to kill Bonnie, feeding Elena his blood and threatening to kill her, the orgy of girls in 2x15, killing Lexi, killing Gina Torres in 1x11 etc.) versus how he actually does face consequences when it is a man that he hurts (Elena finally only gets mad at him when Damon kills her brother versus how she defended him when he killed Lexi, Alaric comes after him to avenge his wife, Mason Lockwood retaliates against him, etc.). It’s a pattern I find deeply disturbing and tbh I don't even know how much I want to delve into it in case it dampers my enjoyment of the show (which it hasn't yet).
4). I have so many ~feelings~ on Damon/Elena, I don’t even know where to start. See number 3 for the underlying reasons why, but in general I feel so left out of the fannish devotion to this pairing. I enjoy most of their interactions because they do have a lot of chemistry.... but there’s nothing all that romantic about it to me? I can’t get past seeing Damon as a classically abusive boyfriend and so while I (usually) enjoy the way they interact on the show, I can’t really get onboard the POOR BB HE JUST LOVES HER SO MUCH SO HE DESERVES HER train.
5). THAT SAID while by any standard, I would probably be on Team Stefan, I don't feel like I watch the show with STEFAN VS DAMON in mind because after all I just want them to love each other and be proper brothers again, so I generally think of myself as being on Team Elena. And in the end, much as I like Stefan, Elena is my favourite and hopefully will be for a long time to come.
6). While objectively I recognize that everyone on TVD is ridiculously attractive, none of the guys are really my “type” (which is, btw, the dorky nerdy type with glasses). There are a few scenes of Paul Wesley in a suit where I think “...mmmm yes” and also he has a nice back, but that is about it. And while I understand that Ian Somerhalder is hot by any standard, again he is not really my “type.”
7). I don’t really get the fandom hate-on for Bonnie. W/E W/E fandom. Sometimes I wonder if the fandom hate for Bonnie is connected to the fact that Bonnie is the only character who still holds Damon to account for his past, but IDK.
And a fic rec: Four Letter Words by miraxcorran, a very lovely Caroline character study piece up to 2x11.