This week we had a chance to chat to Alex a.k.a meet-the-girl-who-can, about her fondest fandom memories, why she writes fanfiction and which character she would remove from TVD or TO. Read what she had to say here:
KM: For all of the readers who don’t know you, why don’t you tell us about yourself?
Alex: Oh blimey, um, so I’m Alex, I live in the UK and I’m currently waiting to start my PHD next year which will mean a lot of writing sadly not all of it fanfiction. I’m really into ‘Big Gesture’ ships like Klaroline and Captain Swan but I’m probably a bigger champion for BROTP’s like Carenzo, Wooden Swan and Marcel x Davina. I’ve always been a writer but reading fanfiction and then thinking ‘God I really wish I could see this kind of scene explored’ is what got me into being serious about it and I’m also trying to write an original piece. I’ve also recently gotten into the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness in a big way, which is currently filming as a tv series so that’s another show I’m waiting for?
KM: Klaroline is not the easiest ship to ship; what was it about this pairing that stood out to you?
Alex: It’s not really a dynamic I think I’ve ever seen before and it works. It’s genuinely a fascinating pairing because you have Klaus ‘evil as it gets’ Mikaelson, ‘The Big Bad’ who has been plotting, scheming and manipulating his end goal for a thousand years, happy as Larry. He doesn’t care about anything other than his family and his freedom. And then you’ve got Caroline Forbes whose literally a baby vampire, no strength, no experience and she’s always side-lined by being stood next to the Golden Girl. She’s the kind of character generally who on paper is just meant to be ‘there’ as a filler. But she’s not. Goldcaught did a fantastic meta ‘You’re an Ocean Caroline Forbes’ and that explains all of my feelings for our girl. And Klaus sits up and takes notice of her. Not for what she can give him, not because she’s useful but because he likes her.
He doesn’t want her to change or shut up like others do, he actively seeks her out and enjoys quiet moments with her. And Caroline’s not trying to save him as so many of the good girls do for brooding evil hotties but she refuses to be friends with an asshole and keeps telling him to shape up or ship out. And he does.
And the thing is, the first scene I saw was a gifset on tumblr where Klaus intervenes to save her from the werewolf bite and I was so confused because from the little I knew at the time ‘he’s the bad guy’ and she’s Best Friend No. 2 and that’s what pulled me in because they were so different with each other. He was gentle and caring and she was a firecracker. She’s so unimpressed by the Most Powerful Being on the Planet and said Being is all heart eyes over her. Klaus helped Caroline grow into herself and Caroline brought out his humanity.
Wow the floodgates opened on that one (I have a lot of feelings)
KM: What has been your fondest memory of Klaroline fandom life?
Alex: Can I have two? One is a personal one, which is when I started posting my fanfic to tumblr itself. The second fic I posted was my reincarnation AU ‘Things I Almost Remember’ and I got such lovely responses I can’t thank the fandom enough for that because it gave me such a confidence boost to keep writing and when I’m sitting trying to write my original piece and flailing the love I got from the fandom keeps me going. Thank you for that guys.
Secondly, the reaction to the ending of TVD. Living in the UK we get it later so I’m dependent on tumblr spoilers and youtube clips and the second letter from Klaus just made my day. It was just so nice that it didn’t get written out entirely, that the window was left open for them to go on so that even if Candice hadn’t been confirmed for TO Season 5 we would have always had the knowledge that our ship met again. However long it takes.
KM: What is your favorite Klaroline scene?
Alex: Definitely the first time Klaus saves Caroline from the werewolf bite because it’s the first time I saw Klaus care about anything. He doesn’t have to save her, calls her collateral damage to her face and acknowledges that he could easily let her die.
Yet he gives her a choice and that’s not something that Caroline had been given a lot of. ‘I could let you die if that’s what you want’ and the thing is at that point Caroline’s been through a lot and he sees that resignation that fear but he doesn’t prey on it. He doesn’t play with her, ‘gloat over a corpse to be’ about how pathetic she is or anything like that.
He helps her. Inspires her. I started watching TVD in 2012, having just started uni. I was terrified that I’d chosen the wrong course, the wrong university, that I was hemming myself in, somehow ensuring I would miss out. And there’s this fantastic speech about how big the world is and how there’s so much beauty to be seen to a girl from a small town. It resonated very deeply with me because it wasn’t a speech about how insignificant we are but how there are things worth waiting for and that even if it doesn’t feel like life is going anywhere right now, the world isn’t passing by it’s waiting to be discovered. Yeah, that scene means a lot to me.
KM: Now that we know that Candice King will be in The Originals season 5 premiere at the very least, how do you think the Klaroline will go down?
Alex: I have seen no spoilers whatsoever about how they might meet up or the kind of situation Klaus is in when we see him again but I’m hoping we get them travelling the world or settled down together at the end of it all. Or maybe they happen to be in the same city at the same time and it’s an open ended deal. It’ll be intriguing to see what kind of relationship Caroline has with Hope and Hayley because she’ll have been with Hope longer than Klaus was. I’m hoping they fall back into their easiness together and are more progressive than tip-toeing around each other.
KM: What are your favourite ships other than Klaroline?
Alex: Oooh, as I say I’m all for Big Gesture, you jump I jump pairings so Kolvina, Marcel x Rebekah, Thierry x Katie, Carenzo and Marcel x Davina as BROTP family ships. I’ve also started shipping Enzo and Gia in my fics so that might become a more fleshed out thing one day.
KM: You are a fanfiction writer, but what is it about this couple which keeps you writing about them even though they are seen by many to be a ‘dead ship’?
Alex: They’re electric. There’s so much potential there and both shows have kept nodding their hats to the ship throughout even in passing with a line or a conversation here and there so it’s never truly died. Klaroline to me could be a show all on its on (hey maybe that’s season 5 who knows) and no matter how many times I watch their scenes they strike me just as much as the first time. It’s funny I didn’t truly start writing Klaroline until after TVD ended and before Candice was confirmed for TO Season 5. It was very open ended and that wasn’t enough for me. I guess its because they’re dynamic as I said earlier is so refreshing and it also makes it applicable to a lot of genres which are so fun to explore. They are truly great characters to play with, whether its in a supernatural or human setting because you can shift their priorities according to the scenario but the chemistry stays the same. Other ships I’ve written and read seem very fixed as to who would pursue who but with Klaroline you can alternate in a multitude of ways. I love exploring the different ways they could meet, their relationships with other TVD/ TO characters and the ramifications each time.
KM: If the luck of fate would have it and you were picked to write a Klaroline scene, what kind of scene would you write?
Alex: I would write the scene where Klaus realises he wants to marry Caroline and officially make her a Mikaelson. I think Caroline would be very cagey and reluctant because why do they have to make it Official and the last one didn’t end all that well but that Klaus with a little help from Rebekah would win her over in the end.
KM: If you had the chance to remove any character from TVD or TO who would you pick and why?
Alex: Camille. It just all felt so unnecessary as an arc for Klaus to fall in love with her. It was poorly written and rushed. Klaroline was formed bit by bit and even then we just got admitted feelings and Forest Sex before they separated again. It took three seasons for Elena to choose Damon and even then there was the sire-bond bit. Klaus didn’t need someone to bring out his sensitive side again because his family and Caroline had already done so. He had Hope, he’d (sometimes) reached a peace with Hayley and actively mourned her death to the point where he was cradling her body in the church. And all through TVD Klaus invites Caroline to come with him to various places and then there was The Phone-call and then they wrote it, not as if it was two characters getting on with their lives separately but as if he’d forgotten all about Caroline. Plus there was an interview somewhere about the potential of Caroline heading to New Orleans when TO was just starting and they said Klaus was too busy or wouldn’t want the distraction of Caroline. Fair enough they have to plug what they’re told but Camille somehow didn’t present the same problem which I find annoying.
KM: And lastly, what’s your one piece of advice that you would like to give the fandom?
Alex: Whatever happens in TO Season 5 with Klaroline don’t stop writing and creating. The originality, enthusiasm and love I have encountered with you all has been so wonderful and inspiring. It’s the kind of community I was always aware of in my time of tumblr but couldn’t find a way into. Then I stumbled into Klaroline and there was a seat pulled out for me. Klaroline shippers have been encouraging, supportive and constructive and that’s exactly the thing fandom should be so keep doing what you’re doing everyone and keep that love going round.