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sailtonorway for the top 7 OTPs meme. And um, I'm moved into my new dorm by myself and really bored here all week, so I took my time with it. LOL.
Captain Jack Sparrow / Elizabeth Swann
Pirates of the Caribbean
Oh, the joys of subtlety and subtext. Maybe on the surface, Jack is just the kind of guy who would hit on any beautiful woman like Elizabeth who's around and she only kissed him because she had to. Then again, when Jack's compass isn't working it could be a complication of his thoughts about her. Then again, when Tia Dalma asks "What vexes a man?" and it's him who easily answers, "A woman," it could be because he has one specific distressing damsel in mind. Then again, there's that completely won-over-and-done-for way Elizabeth looks at him when she sees he's come back to save everyone from the Kraken (followed by the totally epic leg grab of love which must not go unnoticed, btw).
I was not disappointed, much less surprised, that Lizzie ended up with Will. After all, whether Jack ever would have let her get that close to him again after giving him the kiss of death seems doubtful. And of course, that's the whole fun of it: the paradox of how they're attracted to each other for the very reasons a relationship between them isn't possible. She sort of wants him because she sees he's a good man deep down, but if he is then he wouldn't take the chance to get in an honorable engaged woman's pants. He tries to convince her she's no better than someone like him, and she proves him right by tricking him to save herself. Before she leaves him to die he smiles at her and says, "Pirate," because she's proven then that they're truly "peas in a pod, love."
The Joker / Harley Quinn
DC Comics
You have to be pretty messed up if having any kind of relationship with another human being, even as unhealthy as this one, is a step up for you. Ask five different fans if the Joker really cares about Harley at all or just takes advantage of her obsessive devotion to him and you could get five different answers. Paul Dini, who originally created Harley Quinn as a character on the Batman animated series, has said himself, "I think he loves her as much as he can, in his way." They definitely don't make a good model for real-life relationships; the Joker manipulates and abuses Harley, sometimes even trying to kill her because he thinks it would be funny or maybe because it's the only way he has of telling someone he needs some space. But she's still the only face to ever consistently remain part of the Joker's life almost as much as the Bat himself, and the often domestic dynamic of their relationship adds an interesting dimension to him when he's usually an almost superhuman character. They may be a pretty sick pair of baddies that you know you shouldn't really want to always be together, but they have plenty of moments of cuteness and hilarity, and there are even occasional gratifying times that Harley gets back at Mr. J for taking her for granted.
James Potter / Lily Evans
Harry Potter
How are they so awesome? So many fans have had their own ideas of what James and Lily were like and how exactly they got together for a really long time. By the time of DH we found out a little more specific details about them, but there is still a lot left open. And that makes them a lot of fun, especially for fic writers. Maybe when I say I ship J/L it's almost like I'm talking about a ship of my own invention because I've filled in so many of the blanks myself. But somehow the bits of their story we're given in the books make a great foundation for that. They're such intriguing characters that even though they're dead, fans were always begging to have more of them.
Brian Kinney / Justin Taylor
Queer as Folk
To be honest, I was not a B/J shipper when I started watching QaF. In season 1 I thought Justin was an annoying little brat who didn't know when to give up and was going to get his heart smashed up and lose all that obnoxious confidence eventually. I guess I just wasn't paying attention at all and Sunshine is much more perceptive than me, because of course that's just what Brian would want everyone to think when he was the one who was a goner from the moment he met this teenager.
Let's not even get into an essay about all the less shallow reasons I started to ship them. Something happens when Gale Harold and Randy Harrison are on screen together that is completely unlike anything I've ever seen between any other actors. The two got along easily in real life and so they were very comfortable with each other, and in addition to that some television gods must have blessed the show by bringing them together. For a relationship like this for which almost all their feelings need to be shown instead of openly discussed, their chemistry made everything work.
Jacob Black / Bella Swan
Twilight
I love that Bella comes to Jacob because she needs someone who can fix things at a time that she's been broken. I love that he's there with her holding her hand when she gets stitches. At one point when he's holding her she's even described as feeling like he's physically holding her together. He doesn't ask anything of her and she doesn't need to do anything when she's with him; he can guess what she needs or how she feels without her telling him because he pays such close attention to her. How anyone could not end up loving someone who is there for them like this is beyond my comprehension, but if you ever find a Jacob of your own and won't take him please give me his number.
Jack Twist / Ennis Del Mar
Brokeback Mountain
People may bitch about how Brokeback Mountain is overrated because it's not even an exceptional love story and wouldn't be impressive if it were about a man and woman. Honestly, I think maybe it isn't that special as a love story because it's essentially a classic type of romance retold with two men, but it's still an exceptional film. Ennis and Jack are simple people and their love for each other isn't really that remarkable or profound when you think about it, but the way the story is told makes it seem like it is. Watching them getting under each other's skin while they're isolated together on the mountain and struggling with a growing attraction to each other they don't quite understand is like witnessing Adam and Eve discovering what love is in Eden. The affair goes on for twenty years of their lives and gives them both solace and misery because it never changes.
Maybe it really is a different kind of love story because in this movie the relationship can just be a metaphor, just like bull riding is a metaphor and homosexuality is a metaphor. After everyone labeling this the "gay cowboy movie," essentially it isn't even about anything that specific. People can relate to Ennis and Jack's story if they have regrets about never pursuing what they most wanted to do in life or never telling a lost family member they loved them enough. So maybe they aren't the most unique couple in cinematic history, but they might be one of the most meaningfully tragic ones. The happiness they feel only when they're together represents everything in life that is worth being brave enough to go after. As cheesy as it is, sometimes when I think I need to be stronger or could be living a little more, I think of them.
Kara "Starbuck" Thrace / Lee "Apollo" Adama
Battlestar Galactica
Oh gods. What a perpetually wretched and rewarding experience it is being a Kara/Lee shipper. Sometimes I think they have the best elements of many other ships I love all rolled up in one package. The way it's kind of more enjoyable watching them so obviously wanting each other than actually being together is sort of Jim/Pam. Their fear that keeps them from accepting each other is so Brian/Justin. The way they act like playful kids together is very Jacob/Bella.
I guess first of all, strangely enough, I love this ship because it's so unexpected and, you have to admit, a little weird. They're both Bill's children in a sense. She was engaged to his brother who died. To have them get romantically involved is not a direction you'd expect writers to take, and in season 1 I felt a little wrong wanting it to happen. The relationship develops in such a slow, subtle, and denial-hindered way that it's a long time before it becomes clear they really are completely in love, and by that point the problem that "Well, it's kinda weird" seems rather petty after all the torture they're putting themselves through trying to prove they don't need each other.
And how about the refreshing gender role reversal you see all the time with this ship, possibly influenced by how Starbuck was a male character in the original Battlestar Galactica. There's a stereotype in fiction of the rebellious scoundrel falling in love with the respectable rich girl (see OTP #7). But when it comes to Kara and Lee, he is the honorable, upper middle class son of the Commander and prince of pilots while she's the disobedient rogue that he sometimes has to help keep in line but admires at the same time. I love that Kara's the one who has difficulty showing vulnerability so that Lee is too intimidated to express his feelings for her. I love that if she gets pissed and punches him in the face, he'll hit her right back like they're just two men letting out some tension (lol, see OTP #2) and it's not really a big deal.
In general, you just can't go wrong with a BSG ship because the way romance is written on the show is so awesomely...not romance-y. At least not in a gratuitous "We have to put some romance in our sci-fi show to please the female audience" way. In the gloomy post-apocalyptic world of this story it's only realistic for certain questions to be addressed, like who there is left for some people to one day settle down with after most of the human race has been killed, or if there's much room for love for those with important responsibilities in a time that they need to be ruthless and thick-skinned. Starbuck survives by staying angry and sometimes killing Cylons is all that gets her up in the morning. But in Lee there is always this shadow of a possibility of normal happiness for her, which sometimes gives the show a feeling of optimism and sometimes seems to emphasize how much has been lost in war.
Honorable mention . . . .
The Doctor / Rose Tyler
Doctor Who
There isn't really anything special about this ship that you've never seen before, but they're just so damn cute and can turn me into a crying mess. Their love is really problematic and ultimately painful for them, but never angsty and tediously intense like so many tragic love stories are. Usually they're just happy and totally carefree together, which actually makes the way they're so inseparable more convincing than a whole lot of drama would. You can totally believe that they'd go on like this together forever if they could.
Padme Amidala / Obi-Wan Kenobi
Star Wars
They stand out as being one of the only very-not-canon ships I've ever been very intrigued by. I'd already had some shippy thoughts about them when I found out that in an original draft of the Revenge of the Sith screenplay, part of what drove Anakin to the dark side were some irrational feelings of jealousy as he became suspicious that Padme loved Obi-Wan. Some elements of that sub-plot seem to still be hinted at in some scenes of the movie, so maybe I just unconsciously caught onto the Obi/Padme vibes as subtext and am still just a boring canon (or pseudo-canon) girl after all. LOL.
Remus Lupin / Nymphadora Tonks
Something about the idea of them together always unexplainably made sense to me, even before it became canon. Because Tonks never became a very developed character, I think people either get them or totally hate them depending on their own perception of what she's really like. I personally don't understand what's so random, cracky, and unbelievable about someone Remus' age being with a younger woman. And I mean besides the fact that he's gay and all.
I tag...anyone who actually read this far and wants to do the meme.
Credit and shit.
- Black Swan fanart byxcgirl08
- JHQ comic scans from Harley Quinn #5; Batman: No Man's Land; Harley and Ivy: Love on the Lam
- QaF caps fromcherrygurl31's picspams
- R/T fanart by shinga @ DevArt
sailtonorway for the top 7 OTPs meme. And um, I'm moved into my new dorm by myself and really bored here all week, so I took my time with it. LOL.Captain Jack Sparrow / Elizabeth Swann
Pirates of the Caribbean
Oh, the joys of subtlety and subtext. Maybe on the surface, Jack is just the kind of guy who would hit on any beautiful woman like Elizabeth who's around and she only kissed him because she had to. Then again, when Jack's compass isn't working it could be a complication of his thoughts about her. Then again, when Tia Dalma asks "What vexes a man?" and it's him who easily answers, "A woman," it could be because he has one specific distressing damsel in mind. Then again, there's that completely won-over-and-done-for way Elizabeth looks at him when she sees he's come back to save everyone from the Kraken (followed by the totally epic leg grab of love which must not go unnoticed, btw).
I was not disappointed, much less surprised, that Lizzie ended up with Will. After all, whether Jack ever would have let her get that close to him again after giving him the kiss of death seems doubtful. And of course, that's the whole fun of it: the paradox of how they're attracted to each other for the very reasons a relationship between them isn't possible. She sort of wants him because she sees he's a good man deep down, but if he is then he wouldn't take the chance to get in an honorable engaged woman's pants. He tries to convince her she's no better than someone like him, and she proves him right by tricking him to save herself. Before she leaves him to die he smiles at her and says, "Pirate," because she's proven then that they're truly "peas in a pod, love."
The Joker / Harley Quinn
DC Comics
You have to be pretty messed up if having any kind of relationship with another human being, even as unhealthy as this one, is a step up for you. Ask five different fans if the Joker really cares about Harley at all or just takes advantage of her obsessive devotion to him and you could get five different answers. Paul Dini, who originally created Harley Quinn as a character on the Batman animated series, has said himself, "I think he loves her as much as he can, in his way." They definitely don't make a good model for real-life relationships; the Joker manipulates and abuses Harley, sometimes even trying to kill her because he thinks it would be funny or maybe because it's the only way he has of telling someone he needs some space. But she's still the only face to ever consistently remain part of the Joker's life almost as much as the Bat himself, and the often domestic dynamic of their relationship adds an interesting dimension to him when he's usually an almost superhuman character. They may be a pretty sick pair of baddies that you know you shouldn't really want to always be together, but they have plenty of moments of cuteness and hilarity, and there are even occasional gratifying times that Harley gets back at Mr. J for taking her for granted.
James Potter / Lily Evans
Harry Potter
How are they so awesome? So many fans have had their own ideas of what James and Lily were like and how exactly they got together for a really long time. By the time of DH we found out a little more specific details about them, but there is still a lot left open. And that makes them a lot of fun, especially for fic writers. Maybe when I say I ship J/L it's almost like I'm talking about a ship of my own invention because I've filled in so many of the blanks myself. But somehow the bits of their story we're given in the books make a great foundation for that. They're such intriguing characters that even though they're dead, fans were always begging to have more of them.
Brian Kinney / Justin Taylor
Queer as Folk
To be honest, I was not a B/J shipper when I started watching QaF. In season 1 I thought Justin was an annoying little brat who didn't know when to give up and was going to get his heart smashed up and lose all that obnoxious confidence eventually. I guess I just wasn't paying attention at all and Sunshine is much more perceptive than me, because of course that's just what Brian would want everyone to think when he was the one who was a goner from the moment he met this teenager.
Let's not even get into an essay about all the less shallow reasons I started to ship them. Something happens when Gale Harold and Randy Harrison are on screen together that is completely unlike anything I've ever seen between any other actors. The two got along easily in real life and so they were very comfortable with each other, and in addition to that some television gods must have blessed the show by bringing them together. For a relationship like this for which almost all their feelings need to be shown instead of openly discussed, their chemistry made everything work.
Jacob Black / Bella Swan
Twilight
I love that Bella comes to Jacob because she needs someone who can fix things at a time that she's been broken. I love that he's there with her holding her hand when she gets stitches. At one point when he's holding her she's even described as feeling like he's physically holding her together. He doesn't ask anything of her and she doesn't need to do anything when she's with him; he can guess what she needs or how she feels without her telling him because he pays such close attention to her. How anyone could not end up loving someone who is there for them like this is beyond my comprehension, but if you ever find a Jacob of your own and won't take him please give me his number.
Jack Twist / Ennis Del Mar
Brokeback Mountain
People may bitch about how Brokeback Mountain is overrated because it's not even an exceptional love story and wouldn't be impressive if it were about a man and woman. Honestly, I think maybe it isn't that special as a love story because it's essentially a classic type of romance retold with two men, but it's still an exceptional film. Ennis and Jack are simple people and their love for each other isn't really that remarkable or profound when you think about it, but the way the story is told makes it seem like it is. Watching them getting under each other's skin while they're isolated together on the mountain and struggling with a growing attraction to each other they don't quite understand is like witnessing Adam and Eve discovering what love is in Eden. The affair goes on for twenty years of their lives and gives them both solace and misery because it never changes.
Maybe it really is a different kind of love story because in this movie the relationship can just be a metaphor, just like bull riding is a metaphor and homosexuality is a metaphor. After everyone labeling this the "gay cowboy movie," essentially it isn't even about anything that specific. People can relate to Ennis and Jack's story if they have regrets about never pursuing what they most wanted to do in life or never telling a lost family member they loved them enough. So maybe they aren't the most unique couple in cinematic history, but they might be one of the most meaningfully tragic ones. The happiness they feel only when they're together represents everything in life that is worth being brave enough to go after. As cheesy as it is, sometimes when I think I need to be stronger or could be living a little more, I think of them.
Kara "Starbuck" Thrace / Lee "Apollo" Adama
Battlestar Galactica
Oh gods. What a perpetually wretched and rewarding experience it is being a Kara/Lee shipper. Sometimes I think they have the best elements of many other ships I love all rolled up in one package. The way it's kind of more enjoyable watching them so obviously wanting each other than actually being together is sort of Jim/Pam. Their fear that keeps them from accepting each other is so Brian/Justin. The way they act like playful kids together is very Jacob/Bella.
I guess first of all, strangely enough, I love this ship because it's so unexpected and, you have to admit, a little weird. They're both Bill's children in a sense. She was engaged to his brother who died. To have them get romantically involved is not a direction you'd expect writers to take, and in season 1 I felt a little wrong wanting it to happen. The relationship develops in such a slow, subtle, and denial-hindered way that it's a long time before it becomes clear they really are completely in love, and by that point the problem that "Well, it's kinda weird" seems rather petty after all the torture they're putting themselves through trying to prove they don't need each other.
And how about the refreshing gender role reversal you see all the time with this ship, possibly influenced by how Starbuck was a male character in the original Battlestar Galactica. There's a stereotype in fiction of the rebellious scoundrel falling in love with the respectable rich girl (see OTP #7). But when it comes to Kara and Lee, he is the honorable, upper middle class son of the Commander and prince of pilots while she's the disobedient rogue that he sometimes has to help keep in line but admires at the same time. I love that Kara's the one who has difficulty showing vulnerability so that Lee is too intimidated to express his feelings for her. I love that if she gets pissed and punches him in the face, he'll hit her right back like they're just two men letting out some tension (lol, see OTP #2) and it's not really a big deal.
In general, you just can't go wrong with a BSG ship because the way romance is written on the show is so awesomely...not romance-y. At least not in a gratuitous "We have to put some romance in our sci-fi show to please the female audience" way. In the gloomy post-apocalyptic world of this story it's only realistic for certain questions to be addressed, like who there is left for some people to one day settle down with after most of the human race has been killed, or if there's much room for love for those with important responsibilities in a time that they need to be ruthless and thick-skinned. Starbuck survives by staying angry and sometimes killing Cylons is all that gets her up in the morning. But in Lee there is always this shadow of a possibility of normal happiness for her, which sometimes gives the show a feeling of optimism and sometimes seems to emphasize how much has been lost in war.
Honorable mention . . . .
The Doctor / Rose Tyler
Doctor Who
There isn't really anything special about this ship that you've never seen before, but they're just so damn cute and can turn me into a crying mess. Their love is really problematic and ultimately painful for them, but never angsty and tediously intense like so many tragic love stories are. Usually they're just happy and totally carefree together, which actually makes the way they're so inseparable more convincing than a whole lot of drama would. You can totally believe that they'd go on like this together forever if they could.
Padme Amidala / Obi-Wan Kenobi
Star Wars
They stand out as being one of the only very-not-canon ships I've ever been very intrigued by. I'd already had some shippy thoughts about them when I found out that in an original draft of the Revenge of the Sith screenplay, part of what drove Anakin to the dark side were some irrational feelings of jealousy as he became suspicious that Padme loved Obi-Wan. Some elements of that sub-plot seem to still be hinted at in some scenes of the movie, so maybe I just unconsciously caught onto the Obi/Padme vibes as subtext and am still just a boring canon (or pseudo-canon) girl after all. LOL.
Remus Lupin / Nymphadora Tonks
Something about the idea of them together always unexplainably made sense to me, even before it became canon. Because Tonks never became a very developed character, I think people either get them or totally hate them depending on their own perception of what she's really like. I personally don't understand what's so random, cracky, and unbelievable about someone Remus' age being with a younger woman. And I mean besides the fact that he's gay and all.
I tag...anyone who actually read this far and wants to do the meme.
Credit and shit.
- Black Swan fanart by
xcgirl08- JHQ comic scans from Harley Quinn #5; Batman: No Man's Land; Harley and Ivy: Love on the Lam
- QaF caps from
cherrygurl31's picspams- R/T fanart by shinga @ DevArt
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no subject
Date: 2008-08-24 03:46 am (UTC)The Lily/James fanart is gorgeous. *flails*
AND YESS, I LOVE THAT DOCTOR/ROSE VIDEO. SO FUN. Usually they're just happy and totally carefree together, which actually makes the way they're so inseparable more convincing than a whole lot of drama would. Word. Season 2 may've had more weak storylines than the others, but the fun, cheerful Rose/Doctor dynamic appealed to me much more than teh angst of the following seasons. (Well, okay, I liked season 4 best, but.. still.) I like rewatching episodes from season 2 because it's nice to remember that once-upon-a-time the tenth Doctor was actually happy. =P
no subject
Date: 2008-08-24 05:25 am (UTC)Yeah, season 4 of DW rocked pretty hard and I don't think had a single weak episode storywise, but S2 is just so...squee.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-24 06:41 am (UTC)It's funny that Doctor/Rose didn't make your tops, but I'm not surprised since you seemed to narrow it down by the relationships that were the most unique and surprising. For me, D/R is one of my very favorites just because the characteristics and story of that ship are perfectly tailored to fit seemingly everything that compels me to illogically ship my little heart away.
How awesome are you for honorable-honorable mentioning Sirius/Remus in the subtext.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-24 07:01 am (UTC)Well, I just have to acknowledge that Sirius/Remus are the greatest fanon slash couple in the history of slashing even if I only read something about them like once every two years. They're the only acceptable reason for hating Remus/Tonks.
...Did you ever read all my old HP fic recs including that one S/R one from
no subject
Date: 2008-08-25 03:05 am (UTC)Um, I read "So Say" (?) and I don't think I got much farther in your recs. I'm lame.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-24 09:23 am (UTC)James/Lily: Beautiful fanart. I think the amazing thing about them is that they're such strong characters even though we don't know much about them. Like you said, too, fans can fill in the holes.
Jacob/Bella: Oh my. This is OTP of gigantic proportions right now, when it used to be Edward/Bella. What I love about this ship is it's not based off of subtext or created out of thin air (which is usually what my OTPs are). They love each other but they can't be together and that's is what makes it so appealing.
I'm totally stealing this meme, btw.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-24 07:44 pm (UTC)I just got a book for my birthday of comic art by the guy who did that picture. I love it sooo much.
I'm totally stealing this meme, btw.
Awesome. I love reading these things.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-24 09:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-25 11:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-29 01:15 am (UTC)