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Always the same 'ship, just with different couples...
I've been re-reading Gaudy Night (like you do), and one sentence suddenly stood out. Well a lot of them did, obviously, because it's a wonderful book, but I've been thinking about how Peter and Harriet are my 'shipping blueprint, and there is was, perfectly:
That, then, was what he wanted her for. For some reason, obscure to herself and probably also to him, she had the power to force him outside his defences.
Because that is it - the thing that runs through every couple I've ever shipped. Buffy/Spike (although there it is him forcing her out of her defences), Jack/Ianto, Doctor/River, and - with a slight variation, in that these couples are also very old - Spike/Angel and Doctor/Master. Heck you can add Cutter/Leetah to that list, and Howl/Sophie - or even Elizabeth/Darcy... (um, not me. The Austen version.)
To quote the book again (it makes more sense in context - there's poetry involved - but I think it works on its own):
He did not want to forget, or to be quiet, or to be spared things, or to stay put. All he wanted was some kind of central stability, and he was apparently ready to take anything that came along, so long as it stimulated him to keep that precarious balance.
It's not about the strength of their [~romantic~] feelings (how *do* you measure love, anyway?), or about making each other happy; indeed a lot of my 'ships have at various points tried to kill each other. But that connection is still there, that ability to force honesty from each other:
"And I can fool Giles, and I can fool my friends, but I can't fool myself. Or Spike, for some reason."
"It's not pretty, but it's real."
I could go on, but I think this speaks for itself pretty well. All thoughts welcome.
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promethia_tenk have you finished it yet? *looks hopeful* My ear is open like a greedy shark to catch the tunings of a voice divine...)
That, then, was what he wanted her for. For some reason, obscure to herself and probably also to him, she had the power to force him outside his defences.
Because that is it - the thing that runs through every couple I've ever shipped. Buffy/Spike (although there it is him forcing her out of her defences), Jack/Ianto, Doctor/River, and - with a slight variation, in that these couples are also very old - Spike/Angel and Doctor/Master. Heck you can add Cutter/Leetah to that list, and Howl/Sophie - or even Elizabeth/Darcy... (um, not me. The Austen version.)
To quote the book again (it makes more sense in context - there's poetry involved - but I think it works on its own):
He did not want to forget, or to be quiet, or to be spared things, or to stay put. All he wanted was some kind of central stability, and he was apparently ready to take anything that came along, so long as it stimulated him to keep that precarious balance.
It's not about the strength of their [~romantic~] feelings (how *do* you measure love, anyway?), or about making each other happy; indeed a lot of my 'ships have at various points tried to kill each other. But that connection is still there, that ability to force honesty from each other:
"And I can fool Giles, and I can fool my friends, but I can't fool myself. Or Spike, for some reason."
"It's not pretty, but it's real."
I could go on, but I think this speaks for itself pretty well. All thoughts welcome.
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promethia_tenk have you finished it yet? *looks hopeful* My ear is open like a greedy shark to catch the tunings of a voice divine...)
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They are *ridiculously* quotable. I had to be very strict and not include more quotes, because I could have filled a whole post. Right from 'Do we really need weapons for this?' they just *clicked*...
The notion of two characters being able to challenge each other, to get each other out of their comfort zone is extremely attractive. And so is of course the connection between two people being so strong that they can see past each others masks.
Exactly. And in many ways it's the opposite of 'falling in love', because when you're in love you tend not to see clearly. (I'm not putting that kind of story down, but it just doesn't hold the same kind of attraction.)
It's what made me fall in love so much with Richard and Alec, the main couple of Ellen Kushner's Riverside books lately.
Thanks for the rec! :)