Alaric Saltzman Appreciation Week
(Late) Day Four: What is your favourite Alaric ship(s)?
I could give a thousand and one reasons as to why Damon and Alaric are my ultimate OTP.
I could point out the part where Damon’s safe place for Ric’s ring was his own hand.
I could point out the part where Ric was laid across his bed, shirtless and sweaty. His jeans were undone and his first response to a knock on the door was to tell Damon to go away. He only did his jeans up when he realised Elena was at the door.
I could point out the part where even Evilaric’s drawn to Damon as he’s dying, where he clings to him because he’s out of his mind with terror, even though Damon is everything this Ric hates. The part where Damon is crying as he’s holding his friend, where he’s begging him not to be dead, even though he’s been gone for a long time. (Fandom can claim all they want about Damon’s tears being just for Elena at that point, but I’m choosing to ignore it. Ric was just as important to Damon and you know that Damon was secretly hoping there was some way, any way to bring him back to himself).
My love for the Alaric and Damon ship started out simple. I love a couple who'll snark at one another and this gave me that in droves. The antagonistic nature of the relationship makes it fun to watch and the idea of Ric just kissing Damon to shut him up was appealing.
But then the bastards had to get feelings involved.
They snarked and they fought, but there was no venom there. It was almost a sign of affection between them. There were never really any kind words between them. Damon admitted he had a small list of people he'd like to keep alive, which obviously included Ric, and Ric just responded with sarcasm.
"Talk about a humanity dimmer switch." "Thanks."
"Screw you." "You're welcome."
A lot of my feelings about these two are the same as my friendship post and really why shouldn’t they be? Friends make the best lovers, that person who knows you so completely, that person you have nothing to hide from.
Ric would dagger a dangerous, centuries old Original vampire so Damon didn't have to, because it would kill Damon. Damon would magically lock Ric in an old abandoned house to stop him getting hurt, when he'd let Elena out to play. The way they grew to protect one another is so touching, especially considering they both wanted to kill one another to begin with.
Ric would do anything for Damon and vice versa. Ric will tell Damon when his ideas are stupid and that they're probably all going to die, but he'll always go along with it. Damon would go so far as to risk Elena's life to keep Ric around.
When Damon did fuck up and kill Ric, he was a hurt puppy around him. He was apologetic and submissive and so not Damon. He didn’t lash out and start killing people, because that’s not what Ric would have wanted. He knew he’d fucked up and he was being someone else completely to try and show Ric that he could be better, that he was sorry. Of course, it lasted for about half an episode, before he became Damon again, but the fact that he reacted like that at all was still a big deal. The pair of them reacted like a couple who just broke up and it was completely adorable.
Damon and Ric helped each other to heal. They helped one another get over the women who abandoned them with whiskey and regular culls on the vampire population of Mystic Falls. They were there for one another when Stefan ran off with Klaus, when Ric lost Jenna. They let the other be selfish, when the rest of Mystic Falls needed them to stay strong.
They needed one another. Damon needed that grounding influence Ric had and Ric needed the chance to let his dark side out, which hunting with Damon let him do.
There’s no denying that now Damon’s lost Ric he’s completely at a loss. The fact he went to Ric’s grave and was angry, was telling him exactly how shit and how stupid everything was proves that. Where else does Damon have to turn now? He and Stefan are fighting, he and Elena are a mess. Nobody else in Mystic Falls sees him as a real person who has fears and worries, they see him as a monster. Half the time, I don’t think even Elena or Stefan see him as a person, not like Ric did.
Throughout the series, Damon has always had this hang up about everyone choosing Stefan. His father, Katherine, Elena, all the major people in their life always chose Stefan over him. He’s always been second best to Stefan.
But Ric? Ric was the first person who outright chose Damon. The show itself never really went too far into that but it was evident throughout. Damon wasn’t Ric’s second choice. He might have met Stefan first, but Damon was always Ric’s number one. It makes me sad that the show never outright acknowledged it, that Ric never mentioned to Damon during one of Damon’s pity parties but it was always there.
I feel like I’m missing so much yet again when it comes to these two, but this is the best you’re going to get without me just screaming at the screen and smashing my head against the keyboard.
In another life, in another show, these two could have had something amazing together. As it happens, that’s what we’ve got fanfic for.
(As for canon Alaric ships, I loved Jenna. I liked Isobel, but she made me sad. I think Meredith was rushed and awkward).
