(100) Days of Summer

[dante_kent]

Aloha, amigos (huzzah mixing languages!). Summer has unofficially begun, and I think it's about time for some fun. I've had a crazy few weeks of organizing and festivities and holidays. I just got back from a brief but eventful trip which included my birthday, visiting friends I hadn't seen in ages, and, most importantly, no internet access. So

Comments

[upupa_epops]

LIIIIIIIIIIIIZ!!!

First of all, I'm the worst, because I meant to send you birthday wishes, and I didn't :(. I'm so sorry! Happy belated birthday! <333333

As for ships. I come close to what you describe with Damon/Elena, Damon/Katherine. I am more invested in D/E simply because they get much more screen time, therefore there is much more to flail about. (I'm a goldfish, I need constant reminders that a ship exists, otherwise I forget.) But in theory, both are equally interesting for me.

Lol, this didn't answer your question at all. Also I have an impression that there's an obvious pair of ships that I'm forgetting.

[dante_kent]

MARTA.

NO worries. My birthday is a quiet affair. But thank you!

I hear what you're saying re: Damon/Katherine, but could you really equally ship D/K and D/E? Because I'm so in love with Damon/Katherine in so many ways, but I only ever felt OMG I WILL DIE IF THEY DON'T BONE NOW kind of way with D/E.

[badboy_fangirl]

but I only ever felt OMG I WILL DIE IF THEY DON'T BONE NOW kind of way with D/E.
Sometimes, it felt like there was a real danger it was never going to happen and I remember my level of desperation being LOL RESTRAINING ORDER DESPERATION, too, which is why, OTP of OTP of OTPs 4VR.

[dante_kent]

I remember my level of desperation being LOL RESTRAINING ORDER DESPERATION

Yep, pretty much. I remember moments in season 2 (aka when D/E was so one-sided and in my own fangirl mind that life was miserable) when my absolute need for them to get together reached alarming levels. The degree to which a fictional pairing's togetherness mattered to me was perhaps unhealthy. Normal people will never know what we fandomites go through. THEY WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND OUR PAIN.

[wheatear]

Have you ever shipped two pairings for one character equally?

You know what, I don't think I have. I'm struggling to think of any. I'm partisan, basically.

[dante_kent]

It's tricky, isn't it? When I was phrasing the question, I tried to think of some of the famous fandom love triangles, and yet I couldn't really think of many for which there wasn't a clear favourite.

I'm partisan, basically.

Yep, basically.

[pocochina]

I'm an OTC-er, not an OTP-er? I'll attach to a character and ship them with nearly EVERYONE because I want to see the sides of them that other characters bring out. Sometimes I develop one anti-ship that unfailingly leaves me cold (or, very rarely, upsets me) for one or another of my favorites, and there are a few types of pairings that are pretty foolproof turn-offs to me, but generally if I love a character I decide they're a big ho. Or sometimes they're Damon and they come pre-hoed. So D/E does nothing for me and D/S is on the no-fly list, but Damon/Bonnie, /Katherine, /Ric, /Rose, /Rebekah, &c are all shiny, shiny toys I get excited to play with/watch the show play with.

[lynnenne]

Or sometimes they're Damon and they come pre-hoed.

This is the best sentence I've read all day.

[dante_kent]

Huh, that's interesting. I like OTC-ing! I am a shipper at heart, unfortunately, but I can't help but think that OTC-ing is a more satisfying life, because you can't be disappointed. I can casually ship certain characters with everyone and everything, but if it's a character I really love, chances are there is an OTP I instinctively attached to before I could stop myself. It is an unhappy life, basically. But I can low key ship Damon with pretty much everyone, so you and I can enjoy that together. ;)

[lynnenne]

I ship Stefan/Klaus and Caroline/Klaus with equal vigor. And depending on where next season goes, I may even get on board the Stefan/Caroline train.

My all-time OTP, though, is Angel/Spike. No one else will ever.

[dante_kent]

You know, now that you mention Klaus, I think I probably shipped Stefan/Klaus and Klaus/Rebekah to an equal degree. Hey, maybe I can truly multiship!

Once upon a time, I could have loved Stefan/Caroline so very deeply. But as it stands now, Stefan/Klaus is the only relationship I think has really done great service to Stefan (other than Stefan/Damon, but even then, it's usually more about Damon). So I think by that standard, Stefan/Klaus is my ultimate Stefan ship. Oh, the good times of season 3. There were bad times too, but ohhh, were there good times.

[lynnenne]

Stefan's arc in S3 fell apart for me when Klaus compelled him to switch off his humanity. Up until that point, I was loving Stefan's story. After that, he had an easy out for every bad thing he did, ever.

Free will is so much more interesting. Sigh.

[dante_kent]

That switch-flipping business with Stefan (which I still don't buy, btw - Stefan is far too old for the switch to actually function) was easily one of the most narratively cowardly and weak things the show has done. Still such a disappointing choice, all around. Because of that, Stefan/Klaus became pretty much the only thing I could enjoy about Stefan, because that relationship existed and functioned outside of anything the supposed switch's effects could influence. And Klaus was pretty much the only person on the show who told it true to Stefan. I wish that relationship had had more attention in season 4. They're both at their best together.

Free will is so much more interesting. Sigh.

THIS, BASICALLY. WHY DOES THE SHOW NOT UNDERSTAND THIS ONE VERY SIMPLE PRINCIPLE.

[vergoldung]

[RAAAGING BECAUSE ELJAY JUST ATE MY COMMENT. FUCKING TWICE. I WANT TO SMASH THINGS

[dante_kent]

RAAAGING BECAUSE ELJAY JUST ATE MY COMMENT. FUCKING TWICE. I WANT TO SMASH THINGS

AAAAAHHH THAT IS THE WORST I'M SORRY THANK YOU FOR BEING AWESOME ENOUGH TO WRITE IT A THIRD TIME.

I realize that none of my existential shipping woes actually match your high set criteria?

Lol, is it high set criteria? Apologies.

I feel your ship woes, my friend. For most of this show's run (until Stefan became the actual worst), one of my primary ships was the Brothership. And there is pretty much nothing less likely to appear on my television than a sex scene between two brothers on a network show, but THE HEART WANTS WHAT IT WANTS. Sometimes impossible shipping can be relaxing, though. The show can't ruin a ship it won't (canonically) touch.

Ack, but you've hit on the one ship I've never been able to ship! For some strange reason, Elena/Alaric freaks me out. I want so badly to like it, because i see all the inappropriate chemistry, but I just can't? Woe to me, basically.

[vergoldung]

but THE HEART WANTS WHAT IT WANTS. Sometimes impossible shipping can be relaxing, though. The show can't ruin a ship it won't (canonically) touch.
THIS basically. I think the fact that there are no circumstances in which Alaric/Elena could have been explored that way on the show solidifies this ship even more for me. They are (and have to be, lbr) the absolute anti-romance ship. They are broken and as taboo as it gets (the more you break it down the more fucked up it gets, so I can totally understand you being freaked out) and most of all they are ugly, as in plain heroes (this isn't true obvs, but the only thing that matters is what they believe). The fact that they are so intrinsically unepic (lol Alaric can never be epic /pets him) is one of the main factor of attraction to me. Their angst isn't romantic or grand, it's pathetic and unpleasantly realistic. And what I mean by realistic is this : you have two people who fight narratives, one that vehemently works at negating his own story's worth, the other who cling onto writing and

[dante_kent]

This all sounds so good. You make me want to ship it! Alas, it's one of those things I just have an instinctive "NO" reaction to, but intellectually, I'm on board. You make a strong case, my friend.

(MY INSANE SHIPPER LOVE IS EVERYWHERE I NEVER BOTHER TO RESTRAIN MYSELF WHY SHOULD YOU REALLY CARRY ON.)