(no subject)

[doyle]

anonymous_di asked, and I must do. My OTPs, and why.


I got into a semantic argument with myself, first of all, over what constitutes a one true pairing. The 'one' bit's out of the window, of course, since this list has five pairings on it. Then there was much juggling of "well, do I really like this pairing better than that one? I love this one to read, but this one was wonderful for the subtexty bits on the show, and I've always liked writing how x and y interact..."

It's all very complicated. I've had Spike and Illyria bantering in my head for at least two weeks, for instance, and I think they would be a very interesting couple - and I also have little interest in reading fic about them. Meanwhile, Wes/Faith on the show? UST coming off the screen. Yet I don't want to read or write about them. Strange.

Buffy/Spike

Bit of a dichotomy over this one. On the one hand, seeing OMWF first of all undoubtably biased me, and I went through a scary psycho shipper phase, and I'm all for the notion that she really did mean the Chosen "I love you". On the other hand, I was against Buffy ending up with either Angel or Spike in canon. Fic? Fic's fine. She can be with Angel, Spike, both of them, Giles, Xander... I wish she was with Gunn or Riley more, but that could just be me.

I think so much has been said about these two that there's no way I can add to it. And I think B/A's more epic, certainly, especially the high school years stuff, and season 6's my least favourite of them all, but - these two get me. Can't understand why, but they do. (They also reduce me to a twelve-year-old. thecount_ha says that one night when we were both quite drunk, we sang all of Once More With Feeling to the DVD. Then I watched the kiss at the end of Tabula Rasa twice and cried, which is shaming but entirely possible.)

Wesley/Lilah

Well, to begin with, there's the chemistry. There's a scene in Ground State that's my desert island Angel scene. If I'm ever shipwrecked (brief intermission while I hum the theme from Gilligan's Island) and for some reason the whimsical island gods want to give me one scene on loop, that's the one. Just. Wes and Lilah on the floor. There's a belt, and she's talking about being Connor's Mrs. Robinson, which is a threesome fic crying out to be written.

Anyway, I was talking about something, what was it... chemistry. And, cliche as it is, falling in love with somebody despite yourself, "I wasn't thinking about you when you were here" to their last scene in the office, that shot of Wes holding the burning contract and Lilah behind him, not even reaching out to touch him; dude, wait, they're Spike and Buffy, aren't they? Sort of. I bet everybody got that except me...

I love Lilah just hugging him after the rain of fire, and "it's not always about holding hands", and the fact that Lilah didn't repent her evil evil ways and become a shining beacon of goodness. It seems odd that I haven't read much fic for this pairing. Maybe it's because there's no feeling of incompleteness (at least until Home, when there's the aborted attempt at burning the contract and we never see Lilah again and Wesley moves right along to Fred). I think I loved every moment they were onscreen together. I really want to watch season 4 now, but it's nearly 2 and I have more mindless blather to write.

Dawn/Tara

Most people are squicked by the potential mother/daughterness of this. I'm not, needless to say. They make me want to say silly things about creating this peace and stillness between them. In my perfect world, Tara skipped town after Tabula Rasa, and a few years later she's working in an occult bookshop in this little university town, and Dawn walks through the door.

Angel/Nina

I did an essay on this one. Nina fascinates me as much as she irritates most people (much like Kennedy, though she got much less screen time.) She's so ordinary and so not, and her relationship with Angel has this potential to be passionate and quiet at the same time, and she's never going to be his One True Love and Reason For Being, and I like that. It's such an antithesis to the sturm und drang relationships with Buffy and Darla and Cordelia, and much though I love those three pairings, the break is nice. And I'd find it amusing and ironic if she *did* end up with him for the long haul, just because it's so unlikely.

Angel/Nina turns up in some Spuffy fics as a convenient way to get rid of B/A, and however bad the fic, however transparent the author's agenda, it makes me aw. Because I am a sucker.

Willow/Kennedy

I think I'm in a very small minority on this one: Kennedy's my girl in all her bratty glory. The Killer in Me is one of my favourite episodes. The scene in Touched is beyond hot.

Kennedy's the rebound girl, and she's the opposite of Oz and Tara. I've heard plenty of people saying she's not Willow's type at all, but there are ways in which she sometimes reminds me of Xander - funny and strong and fiercely defending - and Willow loved Xander first.

Like Angel and Nina, I think we only get to see these two at the beginning of things, where they're not in love yet but they could be, someday. They might break up ten minutes after the cameras stop rolling in Chosen, or they might be together in twenty years. Besides, if Willow tried to wipe Kennedy's memory, I have some faith that she'd say "screw you, me and Dawn are eloping to Tijuana", as I wanted Tara to do.

And the ones that were left out due to space and time issues: Gunn/Wes, Angel/Spike, Connor/Wesley, Angel/Cordelia, Angel/Darla, Giles/Anya, Fred/Willow, Giles/Ethan, Buffy/Cordelia, Buffy/Riley, Riley/Xander, Buffy/Giles, Oz/Xander, Dawn/practically everyone...

Comments

[gloss]

Yay, Willow/Kennedy! Kennedy's very Xander, only more confident, and I *like* that.

W/K shippers

[indri]

My God, there are three of us. I thought I was alone.

Re: W/K shippers

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

Add kben to the list and it's 4! A glorious 4! *g*

Re: W/K shippers

[manynames.livejournal.com]

*came from su_herald*

I'm number 5!

[maybedarkpink.livejournal.com]

You know what I was just remembering fondly? That AU Connor/Buffy high school fic you wrote. That was the bomb! Lol. Did you ever finish it?

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

You know, I'd really love to continue it, and... the last part isn't in my memories and it was wiped when my computer crashed :embarrassed:

connorbeast has it somewhere, or it was probably posted here. I need to look for it so I can go on with that. It's a dumb series, but the bits I did were the most fun ever to write.

[attaining.livejournal.com]

I think I need to watch S7 again. I didn't like Kennedy the first time around, and looking back, I can't really think of why. So I must watch again and see if I like her after more time in the fandom.

But the others? Love them. Though I'm shocked Knox was nowhere on there and Spangel didn't get a blurb! Hee.

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

Knox/Fred is the 'ship that broke my heart and jumped up and down on the pieces :sob:

The list was originally ten pairings long. Spangel was supposed to be in there but it was very, very late and I needed sleep so I just posted the 5 that were done *g*

[http://users.livejournal.com/_divya_/]

Oh, I can't even tell you how pleased I am that you did this.

When I was writing that comment (I'm so glad I wrote that comment, btw), I jotted down the two people I know of who can write just about any pairing I could possibly think of (and some I can't: Dawn/Cheeseman?!) and do it convincingly. You have such an affection for all the characters, and it's always a pleasure to read you.

You are the queen of the MTP (million true pairings), and you've singlehandedly made me not go WTF about Angel/Nina and Dawn. Now if I could just get a handle on Kennedy...

:::loves:::

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I love MTP. I'm stealing that. Because it's true.

One day I will go through all of the possible pairings I dig. Some day when I have lots and lots of free time.

Kennedy

[h0pal0ng.livejournal.com]

Personally I like Kennedy the character, but hate willow/kennedy. The reasons are mainly the way the relationship began on screen. While I wanted Willow to start moving on from Tara's death, I thought that the way it was porttrayed on screen was a cop out. Surely it would be closer to reality to show Willow attempting to date and failing when something in the date reminded her of Tara. I just find unrealistic the idea that the first lesbian to come along falls in love with Willow and vice versa. I thought that Xander fumbling attempts to get back to dating after Anya were better portrayed in "Beneath you"

Re: Kennedy

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I get that. I think that was the writers reacting to the Dead Evil Lesbian Cliche accusation, proving they weren't homophobic by pushing Willow into a new relationship right away. But hey ho, a lot of season 7 didn't make much sense, and I liked the W/K regardless *g*

[tesla321.livejournal.com]

You've made me admit that I don't like Angel/Nina because I'm writing my own Nina in something that is probably gonna be novel-length by the end---the "Lilac City" for about five people and me. But that's allll right because we don't do it for the feedback, right?

But (and I'm sure it's my pedantic legal brain) isn't having five OTP a contradiction in terms? Just sayin'. I've said my OTP is
Angel/Anyone but Nina, but I was kidding.

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

Yep, it's a contradiction in terms, but OTP's recognisable whereas I'm not sure what the shorthand is for "one of the several/many pairings I ship"...

So, you're doing an Angel/OFC? Ooh. I'd like to read that, actually.

[tesla321.livejournal.com]

It's "Sunnydale Wholesale Beauty Supply" in my memories. Your essay on Nina first made me understand that, I was channelling my OC's jealousy. Actually, I wrote the story set in an AU fifth season, around the time of Black February's cancellation, and then I had to go back and describe where this girl came from.

So. SWBS begins in Season 2 of Buffy, then flashes back to the summer before. A student at Sunnydale High lives with her uncle above his demon barbershop, and the wholesale business that's its human cover. Her uncle is shamelessly based on Kiefer Sutherland and is one of the people that Angel "hears" stuff from---cause he cuts Angel's hair. She's not a Scooby, never becomes a Scooby---
and I'm at the last couple of chapters, actually. I'd love for you to read it, because, frankly, not many people do.* Due to the high school OCs, Spike-less, sex-less format. But I've been writing it all along, as I've been taking my detours with X/O and A/O and W/F and rps and A/D/O and D/O and A/C and C/X and Angel/Anya.

* But the ones who do---have you ever had comments that intimidated you? That's why this story is written so slowly.

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

Intimidating comments? Yikes!