Monday, January 7, 2008

This Ship won't Sail

A disclaimer: I am not talking about anyone in particular in this blog entry, nor am I trying to bait or insult shippers, I'm just doing my thing, expressing what's in my pointy little head. You are responsible for your own reactions. Comment, please, but do not think you will change my mind. Enlightenment and discourse are encouraged. Snark and bashing, doubly so. Hehehe.

Okay, so I haunt the scifi boards, primarily SGA and SG-1. More SG-1 than anything, I am an unabashed Dr. Jackson fan. Hmmm, well, near-unabashed, my geek friends needle me about it. But hey, I embraced my inner fangirl and I'm having some harmless fun.

One of the things which confuses me is the proliferation and tenacity of the shippers. Okay, I can see why the ship is intriguing, I mean, I've had the random hook up thought. What would this person doing that person do the the dynamics of the show? Or, hey, they'd be a cute couple matchmakery ideas. For me it is primarily just thinking out loud and wouldn't it be interesting if sort of mental exercise. I never try to read more into the show than what I see on the screen. If it isn't there, it isn't there! I can grasp slash more easily, which is an another entire caselot of cans of worms entirely. On clearance yet.

Yes, wearing the romantically tinged rose colored glasses could be fun. And what little fanfic I've read with "explicit sex" scenes has been hot. But I still don't see why some shippers insist that the pairings exist and cling to them. What is the appeal of finding romance where there is none? Perhaps there is a reason I never took to Harlequin and other assorted bodice-rippers, besides the really bad writing, and lack of plot and character development.

Here's a chunk of my confusion: why ship? Why not invent yourself into that world or universe and go for it yourself instead? If you're going to imagine love or sex or simply happy cuddle-puddles, why not picture yourself in the mix? Almost every show, I can see myself, not as one of the characters, and most assuredly not as my old lumpy self, but as my alter ego, interacting and saving the day or being tragic or having really hot sex with the other characters. Or saving the day by having tragically hot sex. Hey, I've done it in my head! Could it be other people do not have these ideal alter egos? That this vision departs too widely from the episodes as they exist? Can it be that some shippers lack an imagination of that variety? Does their reality preclude envisioning themselves as fictional characters? Am I mad?

I have a theory. I had invisible friends as a child, but I always had an invisible "me" to talk to and play with. Yes, I was a lonely only girl whose father was in the military. We moved a lot, I had no long-term childhood friends. When I got older, the invisible me was no longer a buddy, but populated my books and movies. She was ten foot tall and bulletproof. As a teenager, I was angsty and a proto-goth. I would have out-gothed the current goths, had there been goths in the 70s. I made do with Tolkien and Edgar Allen Poe. And sometimes I'd talk to myself, we all do, but I had a tall blonde talking back to me. She still hangs around now and then, a vision of lost youth and impossible possibilities. She's the one who creeps into the shows I watch now, creating fanciful stories which vary widely from what's been written for the screen. She's the one having the good hot time with assorted fictional characters. She's a Very Naughty Girl. (On the other hand, I am a DOLL, a Dirty Old Licentious Lady.)

Yes, I have written a bit of fanfic, primarily to see if I could do better than other fanfics which annoyed the snot outta me. Yes, what got posted was the expunged version, the Lost Chapters were for private consumption. Yes, I may drop it onto fanfiction.net, but maybe not. She's a personal thing is the Invisible Me.

So, I have to wonder, why picture a character loving another character when you could be right there, virtually speaking, yourself? Sex, romance or cuddle puddles, why them and not you? I don't get it! As Dr. Phil might say, "This Ship won't Sail."

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I also don't understand the rabid-shipper thing. I've tried, but I really just don't get it. I'd rather read the mock fights between those who want to claim Daniel or Jack or John or Hermiod as their own.

And the people who want to see a mass killing spree (or have a show canceled) if their fave character buys the farm - well, they're just plain scary. Edgar Allan Poe could have done something tasty with that kind of obsession. Talk about ultimate goth...

Anonymous said...

PS: Todd the Wraith is MINE.

AntiM said...

Hey, but I wanna be Todd's food source. Joint custody, you can have him Wednesdays and alternate weekends, plus any Monday holidays or Thursdays ending in 8?

Good to know I am not the only person who find Wraith hot beyond belief.

The "bring back" people ... yes, scary. Sure it worked with Daniel, but a show can only do that so often!

Anonymous said...

Joint custody.... Oh man. I'm sitting here getting hysterical because I do in fact think that some Wraith are hottt (although not the ones without faces), but hell, we don't even know if they like to flirt and make out or get shagged (you think we'll ever find out how that works with them? fanfic material, there - although there must be some reason they wear guy-looking pants under their tunics) - and ROFL, you're going to wear the poor guy out with having to restore you to life everytime he chows down. What'll be left for ME??? And (going back in time here) McKay will be pissed because instead of working on new Replicator code, Todd will just stand at his computer looking all starry-eyed every time he thinks about his two human females. - OH, how I'd love to do an ongoing role-play about Todd and his domestic life..... can't think of an NC-17 forum for it, though. And I guess life is too busy. But you've given me something to laugh about all night. Probably all week. And as long as the Wraith appear on SGA. :D

AntiM said...

Hey, if you'd ever read my little bit of fanfic, you'd know my alter ego is immortal. She hung with Methos long before she discovered Stargate! So the wraith wouldn't have to restore her, er, me, er ... well you know ... plenty left for you.

I've read some nc-17 stuff on fanfiction.net, although I haven't posted there. My story is Daniel-centric of course, and the Lost Chapters are only hinted at on the scifi forums. Yes, bow my head in shame, I've written Sg-1 porno.

Gimp Wraiths, there has to be a fetishist out there for them somewhere.

archersangel said...

Could it be other people do not have these ideal alter egos? That this vision departs too widely from the episodes as they exist? Can it be that some shippers lack an imagination of that variety? Does their reality preclude envisioning themselves as fictional characters? Am I mad?

well there's the "mary sue" type
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Sue
but that' usually a negative stereotype for a character that's perfect all around. smart, good-looking & swoops in to save the day without a scratch on them.

Anonymous said...

Your alter ego was Methos's bud/partner/squeeze (or any combination thereof)?!? Woweee! I *loved* the TV series of Highlander, and Methos was one fascinating dude. - Okay, so you're an Immortal; that helps with the Todd time-share arrangements, but sorta decreases my leverage re: the issue of my needing much, much more time with him, since I don't know how to use a sword. - J/K, honest.

Fanfic reading used to be part of one of my jobs, and I think I can safely guarantee that a gimp Wraith would find a "niche" audience.

AntiM said...

Hey, I have swords and I do know how to use them: you stick the pointy end in.

"She" isn't the same type of immortal, it is a curse from her home world, so the Highlander immortals can't "feel" her, and she can't lose her head. Can't take a quickening, it jumps to the nearest earth Immortal. Methos was not happy when he found out. Very tragic. In fact, I have a flashback scene in my Daniel fanfic where Methos is talking to her as her conscience. I don't name him, but if you know Highlander, it is obvious.