Top 20 pairings meme. Also, brevity is not one of my virtues. UNABASHED FANDOM POST LOL.
Ranty and illustrated! Also a study in how many times Jenn can say "adorable" in one post!
Omoidasu Tristezza/Julidan Baranohr [RYUUGUU]
Okay, so they're an original story OTP and may not technically count but oh, oh I love them love them love them like THIIIIIIS much. They kind of, sort of typify what love means to me, as hoky and dumb as that sounds. Although sometimes I'm at a loss as to what it is about their relationship that makes me so melty and cheesy and ranty and, uh, causes them to be about 92% of all art I produce. I mean, of course, I adore both characters- I write Omoidasu and Leslie's Julidan is.... uh, my favorite character in anything ever. I practically tried to start a cult to Julidan back in Jr. High because he is the mostest fantasticest FAILURE AT LIFE and I love him. ♥ Their chemisty is SPARKLING and SIZZLING and all that great stuff, and it was also completely accidental (Leslie and I NEVER meant for them to be a couple. Best friends, sure, but nothing more). So it's possible that a large part of my fondness for this romance comes from the literary development. It was something that evolved naturally in our writing so it almost feels like it was out of our control. This gives it a kind of fated feeling that I'm sure doesn't really come across in the actual context of the story.
Mostly, they're a slow, gentle falling in love coupled with a jarring: "OH MY GOD!!!!" epiphany and full of NEVER RESOLVED SEXUAL TENSION.
AND THEY'RE ADORABLE. Oh my god, I am not one for schmoopy, "wai wai" adorable romance but these two. Because they're just so natural and dumb around each other sometimes. And Omoidasu makes Julidan breakfast. And everyone just ASSUMES they're having sex when they really aren't. And they don't really bicker, but they do fight once in a while. And sometimes Omoidasu cross dresses and they get stuck in closets together (MAKE GAY JOKE HERE?). And Omoidasu is just so stupidly melodramatic about how much he wants in Julidan's pants and Julidan just. doesn't. get it.
Also, they just look good together. They even looked good together when I sucked (more) at drawing. They look so good together there is GOTHY FANSERVICE of them already. I'm mostly trying to justify why I draw them so much because, oh wow, I was flipping through my Ryuuguu art the other night and. Yeah. I really like these two.
But Taki/Omoidasu is awesome too.
Princess Sally and Sonic [ARCHIE SONIC CONTINUITY]
Oh, I couldn't find decent pictures of either of them, which is sad. If only I had a scanner! However, yay! for the panel I did manage to find- that is OLD SCHOOL Spaz art right there. Alternate future from issue 21 of the Archie comic series. I AM FULL OF NOSTALGIA RIGHT NOW BY THE WAY. :D
Anyways, this was my very first OTP ever. I kind of wanted to lump all the "old" Sonic comic pairings in here because as I got older and less attatched to the comic I began to like them all pretty much equally: Sonic/Sally, Knuckles/Julie-Su (oh, THEY almost made their own spot on this list because they're awesome and all: "we r too cool for marriage lol" in the future), Antoine/Bunny and, uh... Geoffrey/Elias? (shut up! You know Geoffrey would SO settle for the other Acorn sibling. And I don't care if he's married, no way is Elias straight!)
BUT! The point is: Sonic and Sally were an awesome couple back in the day, in both the cartoon and the comic. She was brains, he was the brawn. She was the battle tactician and commander, and he was the loyal soldier she could always count on in a pinch. They were childhood friends, closest confidants and always, always a little bit in love with each other. Even if they were occasionally in typical teenage denial (also, uh, what with the way they were trying to bring down a repressive, totalitarian regime they didn't exactly have a whole lot of time for romance). UH, Amy Rose who? American Sonic continuity, you always do it better. ♥
Taichi Yagami/Yamato Ishida [DIGIMON ADVENTURE 01/02]
So, like most people I got into slash/yaoi because of these two. But unlike most people I can't really remember why I adored them so much. I mean- okay, I still get a little mushy when I re-watch 01 and Yamato's all: "TAI UR FRIENDSHIP MEANZ SO MUUUCH TO MEEE" and Tai's all: "I R DYING BUT THE LIGHT OF UR LUV MAKES ME WHOOOOLEEE!" but I don't really have the same visceral: "OH PAIRING I LOVE YOU." reaction I did in my youth. Which is sad because I shipped this HARD. This here is a case of a fandom completely and utterly ruining your love for something.
COMPLETELY. AND UTTERLY.
I think in some ways SasuNaru is the logical evolution from being a Taito shipper so, uh, maybe that explains it? Yay, rival ships? But I don't think that's really it. :P Tai and Matt weren't really rivals, just people who pissed each other off for some very random, very deeply personal reasons. It's not like Matt wanted to be leader- hell, Matt's the one who shook Tai's shoulders and forced him to take that responsibility (a responsibility that he immediately shoved onto Izzy, but y'know. Izzy's the best ♥). I think my adoration of Taito mostly had to do with Yamato: he just had a very strange reaction to Tai 99.9% of the time which was hilariously full of: "I AM CRUSHING ON YOU OH GOD PLZ DON'T FIGURE THAT OUT." Tai made him voliatile, weepy and honest. These are the reasons I can never believe that Yamato Ishida is straight.
I wrote so much Taito fic back in the day and it was all bad. T__T I also used to run a pairing shrine. GEEZE, I KNOW! O_O I've been trying to convert my "reasons for" section from the old site into a
ship_manifesto for a while now, but dumb things like school and ORIGINAL WRITING keep getting in the way. Geeze, real life. What do you think you're doing, interferring with fandom! :O Maybe this summer?
Sasuke Uchiha/Naruto Uzumaki [NARUTO]
I totally wrote a 5,000 word essay on this.
Roy Mustang/Edward Elric [FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST]
It's science. I guess that's what it comes down to. I've tried to tell myself that I DON'T actually like this couple that much, but then I really think about it and uh, yeah. There was a reason I wrote so much fic for what is essentially a crack pairing (not really, but I'm just sayin': it's got no canon backing and that's unusual for me).
But yes. Science. Roy and Ed connect on an intellectual level and I think... actually, I have no clue. So sue me- age differences are hot!No, really. It's a deep, intellectual thing. lol fandom.
Remy "Gambit" LeBeau/Rogue [MARVEL/X-MEN]
There's nothing really more romantic than Gambit and Rogue. I mean, seriously the two are practically a trashy harlequin dime-novel BUT I will make no excuses for loving them because old issues of X-Men featuring their TORRID, TRAGIC love affair still make my heart go: "skippity skip skip SIGH" like a dumb girl who actually goes "skippity skip skip sigh". It's kind of, sort of emotional manipulation on Marvel's part but damn, do they know what works. Rogue and Gambit's relationship hasn't been written well in nearly a decade and I still love it to pieces.
What I love most about them is the way they're definitely two people who had no business falling in love. A charming, woman-loving sleazeball like Gambit devoted to a woman he can't touch? Someone as terrified of intimacy as Rogue attracted to a dog like Gambit? That's classic stuff, folks. Classic.
Oliver Queen/Dinah Lance [DC COMICS/GREEN ARROW]
(I don't like how when I typed "Oliver Queen" into google, the first 10 results were Smallville screenshots. O__O)
I guess you could call Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance the "Gambit and Rogue" of the DC universe- only they're been doing the "on again, off again" dance for thrice as long. A staple couple of the DC universe since the late 60's, their relationship has been an integral part of both characters for the past three decades. Yeah, yeah- so it's deeply ingrained canon. Hey Jenn, aren't you usually the sort that finds canon V. BORING? D:
But, oh, Ollie and Dinah are one for the books. They invented the freaking book (whatever the hell that means). Wrote it after inventing it even. Or not- I actually have some pretty valid reasons for liking this beyond: "OLLIE YOU ARE MY FAVORITEST I WANT YOU TO BE WITH THE WOMAN YOU LOOOOOVE". I mostly enjoy them because they're very... adult. Superhero comics are generally aimed at teenagers and young adults so I've always found that romances are potrayed at a suitably juvenille level. They're all incredibly polarized between: "SEXUAL TENSION AND ANNNGST ZOMG!" and "Marriages are happy, bland and can only be severed byPHOENIX extreme external forces!" Ollie and Dinah were never either of these. They WERE a long-standing, stable couple (as Dinah said: "We've been together longer than most marriages last- why bother actually getting married"), but they were constantly in a state of flux do to their dual life-styles and Ollie's tendancy to spend money they didn't have (Seriously, what a loser!). Also, the way he was a total fuck up. More so than other couples in mainstream comics, Ollie and Dinah always felt real. Even the way their relationship fell apart back in the early nineties was a thing of beauty (yeah, I happen to LIKE that tragic downwards spiral Ollie took during the Grell era. Mid-life crisis ftw!). The way they came back together after Ollie was revived was equally elegant. The way Winick broken them up again, however, was pretty much the opposite of that.
ALSO! ALSO! They're a couple that fights crime together! You don't actually see that often enough in superhero comics! Yeah, plenty of costumed heroes date each other or happened to be on the same team, but I can't think of many other couples that were a team the way The Green Arrow and The Black Canary were. ♥
I think a lot of this has to do with Grell's superb ability to potray the life of vigilantism in a realistic light. In the old GA comics we got to see Ollie stop political corruption in it's wake! But we also got to see him be a total dork around the house and cook supper for his girlfriend. We got to see Dinah bust up drug rings! But we also got to see her grind her teeth over the monthly finances. They went dancing!
So despite how dumb it's been with them lately, I still am excited at the prospect of them getting married this year in comics. Because they still work well together! And Winick's a bad writer so we can pretend the intentional infedelity didn't happen! (Cheating is only awesome when you're unconcious, Ollie!) (Or when they're sixteen!) (Oh, Ollie, you disgusting pimp). I can also support it because Mike Grell once drew this lovely picture. XDD
Rachel/Tobias [ANIMORPHS]
She was popular and pretty! He was a sarcastic nerd who knew lots about dinosaurs!
He, uh, was also a bird!
I loved all the characters and relationships in Animorphs and pretty much took them for what they were (so, uh, no shipping anything but canon for me ha ha). The reason Rachel/Tobias edged out pretty much everything else for me was NOT because of the "omg melodrama!" KAA knew her readers ate up. It was the brutal honesty in it. I think it's just the kind of people Rachel and Tobias were, but they were both people full of lots of ugly things and there were a lot of ugly patches in their relationship (due to the SHEER impossibility of it, mostly), but they kind of... jumped in headfirst, I suppose, and never really looked back. Sure, they fought and sometimes Rachel was a bloodthirsty freak in battle and sometimes Tobias was embarrassed about eating roadkill but mostly they were pretty accepting of all those grevious flaws they tried to keep hidden from the rest of the world.
Also, that one time when Tobias was a Deinoychus he nearly ate her and she totally forgave him. How is that NOT adorable? ♥
Fox Mulder/Dana Scully [THE X-FILES]
Why? Well, it's Mulder and Scully. They snark and bitch and snipe and make inappropiate sarcastic comments and go through hell together and then Mulder has that adorable puppy dog expression and Scully just rolls her eyes. It might be more of a love for the characters and show as a whole because- even though the last three seasons suck abysimally- 'The X-Files' has long been and probably always will be my favorite television show. Their "two steps forwards, three steps back" relationship was part of the charm of the series. I love how Mulder really *needed* her because he was all lonely and pathetic in his self-induced, self-destructive isolation and I loved how Scully was still fairly normal and could have just walked away whenever she wanted but she didn't because she had such a strong sense of duty and loyalty (and kick-assness because Scully really wore the pants in that dynamic). But I also loved the fact that she sometimes got bitter about the mess he'd gotten her in and he'd sometimes get distant and try to be all: "Secret Agent Man!" and...
.... no, that's pretty much it. ♥
Booster Gold/Blue Beetle [DC COMICS/JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL]
They're one part dorky,one part completely in need with each other wtf one part really dorky and, since Ted died, one part utterly depressing and tragic. Also, did I mentioned that they're like a freaking married couple? I mean, once in JLI they even had one of those fantastic screaming matches where they ended up throwing dishes! And then Ted got mad because he thought Booster was trying to "pick up" at Scott (Mister Miracle)'s funeral! But mostly they're just inseperable and, uh, running companies together. :P
And their theoretical gay relationship is a running joke in canon. There are rumours about them presented in 'Extreme Justice' (I KNOW, I KNOW- WHY WOULD I READ THAT?), Sue threatened to "out" them in 'I Can't Believe it's Not...' and, uh:
Ted: "Get a grip Booster, you're acting like some jilted lover."
Booster: "WELL THAT'S WHAT IT FEELS LIKE!"
*silence*
Booster: "That's- that's not what I meant! Y-you don't think that I'm- I mean, once- ONCE- I accidently went to this website where all these guys were- but I would never, ever-"
Ted: ".... I blame myself-"
Booster: "Blame!?"
Ted: "- for even having this conversation."
- Formerly Known as the Justice League
SRS BZNS comic fans can bitch as much as they want about how annoying it is that "ebil slash fangirls" have taken this friendship out of context for so long it's started leaking into the comics themselves, but seriously: they are each other's most important person. They're emotionally co-depedent and, uh. The way they fight is just... uh, yeah.
I don't really have any illusions about Ted coming back to the DC universe proper what with there being a new Blue Beetle who's actually a pretty good character in a well written series, BUT STILL: Booster's upcoming title is about time travel, so a small part of me is hoping, hoping, hoping for real that Booster might obtain himself a Ted (from the past? from the multiverse?) and they'll live happily ever after as "heterosexual life-partners". Because that's what they are. Totally heterosexual. Like this panel:
Peter and MJ [MARVEL/SPIDERMAN]
616 Peter and MJ, I mean, because of course I'm behind this couple in any Spiderman universe, but it's "old skool" Marvel canon where I think the story has the most punch. I love that they were friends first. I love that she wasn't Peter's first love. I love that he had to ask her to marry him three times. I love their adorable domestic moments (MJ washing the Spiderman suit in the bathtub while Peter sits on the toilet sewing up their laundry ♥). There is something really mythic and moving to their relationship. The fact that it made this list alone should say something about that- I like Spiderman, sure, but I'm not exactly a big fan. I haven't even read much of the series.
Fye D. Flourite/Kurogane [TSUBASA RESERVOIR CHRONICLES]
SO HI, THIS IS MY CLAMP OTP. I know, I know- from such a new series? But what about Subaru and Seishirou? What about Karen and Aoki? Well- let it be known that I like pretty much all canon CLAMP romance, and quite a few non-canon ones as well. However, out of all of them it's this one that resonates with me the strongest. I think Fye and Kurogane are... exactly and definitely everything I like in a pairing, canon or fanon (and honestly- they manage to be both. Canon and fanon, I mean).
Of course they're adorable when they're being ridiculous (Kuro-rin, mommy and daddy and all that), but it's the serious side of their relationship that I fell for. First of all: the ironic juxtaposition between them is hardly elegant or subtle (black and white and all that), but it works brilliantly nevertheless. They just fit together so perfectly, which is lovely and bizarre BECAUSE: CLAMP pretty much shoves the "soul mate: one person for everyone no matter which world" concept down our throats yet Fye and Kurogane aren't even close to being from the same universe. They're pretty much the definition of Hitzuen (well, the whole TRC family is): two people who under any other circumstances could not have possibly met and yet, what would their lives have been had they not?
I love Fye's moments of OOPS! honesty and the way Kurogane had him pinned from day one and doesn't take Fye's: "oh, you mean little ol' me, tee hee?" bullshit.
That's pretty romantic, guys.
Elim Garak/Julian Bashir [STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE]
Oh, well. Y'know. Just the way that Julian was always sparkling about how cool Garak was and Garak would, uh, randomly just BE THERE in his ROOM when he woke up STARING at him (okay, that only happened once but it was tres creepyand adorable). And the way they were practically dating for the first four seasons and you just KNOW that Jadzia probably told everyone that they were romantically involved because no one ever told poor Julian that friendly arguments about literature and morality is more or less Cardassian for: "WE ARE FLIRTING BIG TIME YES!"
Also, there's this:
I know that we've grown apart and that's as it should be. We learn what we can from certain people, then we move on after we've taken what we need. When we learn nothing new about ourselves in a relationship that's when it is over. Or, it is over the moment we are afraid to learn anything new.
- 'A Stitch in Time', Andrew J. Robinson
They played incredibly necessary roles in each other's lives. Between Julian's journey from naive, slightly annoying (okay, REALLY annoying) rookie doctor to SEKRIT AGENT MAAAAN and Garak's noted ability to be less of a cagey, morally challenged nutcase by the end of the series, were transformations that probably never would have happened without each other. So even though they drifted apart by the end of the series, they were still catalystically important to each other and that's totally hot. And then Garak wrote Julian a 300 page letter and Julian read it over and over again. THIS IS ALL POST-SERIES BOOK CANON. OH, DS9).
Plus their onscreen chemistry is one of the most hilarious, adorable and charming things in all of DS9. AND THERE ARE A LOT OF CHARMING THINGS IN DS9. (DS9 I looooove you ♥ ♥ ♥)
Connor Hawke/Eddie Fyres [DC COMICS/GREEN ARROW]
This pairing has apparently never occured to the DC fandom despite it being, uh, really really there. This may or may not have something to do with the fact that Eddie is a dirty, cranky, crass, amoral middle aged man who smokes too much and Connor's a pretty, nineteen year old with questionable sexuality who can, apparently, be easily slashed elsewhere (KYLE RAAAAAYNER!!! *shakes fist*).
BUT! BUT! BUT! These two make me sparkle! Almost the entirety of Connor's run as the Green Arrow was like an extended buddy movie between two people who should never, ever star in a buddy movie together. What with Connor being an even headed Buddhist pacifist and Eddie being a rude and pragmatic murderer. They get along so eerily well for people who tend to be disgusted with each other's life philosophies and no matter how many times they get irritated with each other or decide to quit working side by side, they always end up back together. ♥living in San Fransisco, no less! WTF, Chuck Dixon!
And Connor DID kind of affect a change in Eddie that's actually very sweet. Sure, Eddie WAS fairly fond of Ollie after all they'd been through, but he didn't owe him enough that he HAD to look after the guy's son. But he does. Not only does he look after Connor in, uh, his own way, he also does unthinkable things for the kid. Hell- he joined a monastery for him! And once in a while Connor convinces Eddie not to kill (only once in a while, though). Also, being around someone as harsh and brutally practical (in some places, we call that callous) is apparently very good for Connor's naive world view.
Y'KNOW, I DON'T EVEN KNOW. Even in the new mini-series which is all about Chuck Dixon PROVING HOW OMG!STRAIGHT! CONNOR IS (and Eddie picking up chicks half his age, which is actually awesome) there is still this adorable and lovely sense of ease between them. You can just tell that there is no one in the entire world either is more comfortable around. They're, uh, totally made for each other. In the most wrong way possible. ♥
AND OLLIE. WOULD BE SO ANGRY. :D
Trowa Barton/Quatre Raberba Winner [GUNDAM WING]
There is so much war symbolism between these two that I am way, way to exhausted to go into. Besides, I haven't seen Gundam Wing in years. Oddly enough, I like Trowa/Quatre for pretty much the same reasons I love Heero/Relena (they're juxtapositions on the battlefield, who come together harmoniously. SOMETHING LIKE THAT). Their relationship just touches on something I find significant in the themes of the series.
ALSO, THEY MAKE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC TOGETHER. *shot* :D :D :D :D
Orochimaru/Kabuto [NARUTO]
I appreciate how different these two are from the typical: "Villain/right hand man" dynamic. Sure, there's some power issues there but MOSTLY they interact like equals. Kabuto's got his own stuff going on and Orochimaru lets him snark back like no one's business. I mean- Orochimaru guts some random minion for wondering if he's okay and three seconds later Kabuto's calling him an idiot for trying to get out of bed. Also, they totally flirt. Which might have been an accident on Kishimoto's part but my goodness, it's adorable.
It's just kind of awesome how they don't trust each other but are a-okay with that. Like, that general, unspoken acknowledgement that both of them are exactly the same kind of ambitious, slippery, backstabbing assholes means that CAN trust each other because they're watching their backs anyways and, uh... I dunno, they get off on the fact that they CAN'T trust each other?
I don't even know. They're just the best villains in a shounen fighting series ever. XDDDD
Daisuke Motomiya/Ken Ichijouji [DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02]
These two were just too cute. XD I mean- that's all I need to say, really. They are TOO CUTE. Too cute and so damn perfect for each other it's almost hard to believe that the series didn't intend them as a canon couple. Aside from the fact that they spend the second half of the series being all adorable and downright coupley, there's also the fact that they play the part of major catalyst in each other's character development.
On Ken's part it's patently obvious- Daisuke is the one who tries to reach out to him. He was mind-fuked by the Kaizer pretty brutally and yet he forgave Ken instantly. There's something almost classic in the way Daisuke brought Ken to the proverbial light side. I can't phrase it any other way than saying that Daisuke saved Ken's soul. When Ken was alone and depressed and being really damn stupid in all those dark places he went to in the series; when even WORMMON couldn't bring him out of it, Daisuke was always there with an encouraging speech or a good bitchslap to bring him back to reality.
With Daisuke it's a little more subtle. Before he embakred on "project Ken!" Daisuke was kind of foolish and scattered. He had a whole lot of good intentions but no real focus. After the whole fiasco with Ken's conversion and the first Jogress Shinka, Daisuke suddenly becomes the BIG DAMN HERO of the series. He's almost more of a BIG DAMN HERO than Taichi was in 01 (because Tai was always a bit of an asshole ♥), however he is always at his most inspiring when he's trying to inspire Ken. And that's true love. ^__^
DOORMOUSE FACE IS ALSO TRUE LOVE:
Griffith and Guts [BERSERK]
Eh, this one's a little complicated and I think that
ew_younerd pretty much sums it up perfectly. I feel like I need to say something intelligent about them, but I just don't have that in me while studying boring Greek History. :P I also used the dumbest panel ever above. Ha ha.
Xellos/Filia [SLAYERS]
So to put it in D&D terms it's like a Chaotic Evil devil and a Lawful Good cleric developing a thing for each other. It's the ultimate "love/hate" dynamic to the point where their races kind of exist in order to combat each other. And man, they hate each other and have SO MUCH FUN arguing and he's all: "BTW I killed THOUSANDS OF YOUR PEOPLE in that last war we had." which is..... actually kind of disgusting, but since it's Slayers it disgusting in a cute way.
So I've got nothing really deep to say about this. It's like how Xellos has a creepy-Mazoku crush on Lina, he totally has creepy-Mazoku interest in Filia. He's always poking and prodding her because he wants to see what's she's capable of or how she'll react in certain situations. It's so random, but by the end of TRY he pretty much admits that he adores her meanwhile she's all: "Ha ha, Xellos STFU". I don't really expect anything to come of it except that he'll probably be hanging around to irritate her until the end of time after the rest of the Slayers die.
Guy Gardner/Tora Olafsdotter [DC COMICS/JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL]
It's a "beauty and the beast" kind of thing, but only more awesome because no matter how much good Tora looked for in Guy, she didn't really find it in the capacity she was searching for. What she found instead was unexpected sincereity and passion. So yeah, Guy was a complete and utter PIG to her most of the time, but damn, he loved her.the 90's, it was a difficult time for everyone and yes that IS Wonder Woman.
(plus, when ISN'T Guy a total pig?)
Also, so, uh, didn't they just break your heart in 'I Can't Believe It's Not...'? BECAUSE MY HEART. IT WAS BROKEN. And I didn't even know the characters that well. And then I went back and read old JLI and, wow. It broke my heart again. A little worse this time.
Actually, speaking of that scan I think Ted's line pretty much summed it up: "She was maybe- MAYBE- the only person Guy Gardner ever truly cared about besides himself." OUCH. And when he wasn't being a jerk he made he so inexplicably happy. ADORABLE. HEY, EVERYONE ON BIRDS OF PREY, PLZ TO BE NOT WAITING SEVERAL MONTHS TO TELL GUY THAT SHE'S ALIVE KTHX?Like, rememember that time she died and everyone was like: "OH, GUY, YOU'RE RIGHT. THAT IS FUNNY. WHERE *DID* ICE GO?"
Omoidasu Tristezza/Julidan Baranohr [RYUUGUU]
Okay, so they're an original story OTP and may not technically count but oh, oh I love them love them love them like THIIIIIIS much. They kind of, sort of typify what love means to me, as hoky and dumb as that sounds. Although sometimes I'm at a loss as to what it is about their relationship that makes me so melty and cheesy and ranty and, uh, causes them to be about 92% of all art I produce. I mean, of course, I adore both characters- I write Omoidasu and Leslie's Julidan is.... uh, my favorite character in anything ever. I practically tried to start a cult to Julidan back in Jr. High because he is the mostest fantasticest FAILURE AT LIFE and I love him. ♥ Their chemisty is SPARKLING and SIZZLING and all that great stuff, and it was also completely accidental (Leslie and I NEVER meant for them to be a couple. Best friends, sure, but nothing more). So it's possible that a large part of my fondness for this romance comes from the literary development. It was something that evolved naturally in our writing so it almost feels like it was out of our control. This gives it a kind of fated feeling that I'm sure doesn't really come across in the actual context of the story.
Mostly, they're a slow, gentle falling in love coupled with a jarring: "OH MY GOD!!!!" epiphany and full of NEVER RESOLVED SEXUAL TENSION.
AND THEY'RE ADORABLE. Oh my god, I am not one for schmoopy, "wai wai" adorable romance but these two. Because they're just so natural and dumb around each other sometimes. And Omoidasu makes Julidan breakfast. And everyone just ASSUMES they're having sex when they really aren't. And they don't really bicker, but they do fight once in a while. And sometimes Omoidasu cross dresses and they get stuck in closets together (MAKE GAY JOKE HERE?). And Omoidasu is just so stupidly melodramatic about how much he wants in Julidan's pants and Julidan just. doesn't. get it.
Also, they just look good together. They even looked good together when I sucked (more) at drawing. They look so good together there is GOTHY FANSERVICE of them already. I'm mostly trying to justify why I draw them so much because, oh wow, I was flipping through my Ryuuguu art the other night and. Yeah. I really like these two.
Princess Sally and Sonic [ARCHIE SONIC CONTINUITY]
Oh, I couldn't find decent pictures of either of them, which is sad. If only I had a scanner! However, yay! for the panel I did manage to find- that is OLD SCHOOL Spaz art right there. Alternate future from issue 21 of the Archie comic series. I AM FULL OF NOSTALGIA RIGHT NOW BY THE WAY. :D
Anyways, this was my very first OTP ever. I kind of wanted to lump all the "old" Sonic comic pairings in here because as I got older and less attatched to the comic I began to like them all pretty much equally: Sonic/Sally, Knuckles/Julie-Su (oh, THEY almost made their own spot on this list because they're awesome and all: "we r too cool for marriage lol" in the future), Antoine/Bunny and, uh... Geoffrey/Elias? (shut up! You know Geoffrey would SO settle for the other Acorn sibling. And I don't care if he's married, no way is Elias straight!)
BUT! The point is: Sonic and Sally were an awesome couple back in the day, in both the cartoon and the comic. She was brains, he was the brawn. She was the battle tactician and commander, and he was the loyal soldier she could always count on in a pinch. They were childhood friends, closest confidants and always, always a little bit in love with each other. Even if they were occasionally in typical teenage denial (also, uh, what with the way they were trying to bring down a repressive, totalitarian regime they didn't exactly have a whole lot of time for romance). UH, Amy Rose who? American Sonic continuity, you always do it better. ♥
Taichi Yagami/Yamato Ishida [DIGIMON ADVENTURE 01/02]
So, like most people I got into slash/yaoi because of these two. But unlike most people I can't really remember why I adored them so much. I mean- okay, I still get a little mushy when I re-watch 01 and Yamato's all: "TAI UR FRIENDSHIP MEANZ SO MUUUCH TO MEEE" and Tai's all: "I R DYING BUT THE LIGHT OF UR LUV MAKES ME WHOOOOLEEE!" but I don't really have the same visceral: "OH PAIRING I LOVE YOU." reaction I did in my youth. Which is sad because I shipped this HARD. This here is a case of a fandom completely and utterly ruining your love for something.
COMPLETELY. AND UTTERLY.
I think in some ways SasuNaru is the logical evolution from being a Taito shipper so, uh, maybe that explains it? Yay, rival ships? But I don't think that's really it. :P Tai and Matt weren't really rivals, just people who pissed each other off for some very random, very deeply personal reasons. It's not like Matt wanted to be leader- hell, Matt's the one who shook Tai's shoulders and forced him to take that responsibility (a responsibility that he immediately shoved onto Izzy, but y'know. Izzy's the best ♥). I think my adoration of Taito mostly had to do with Yamato: he just had a very strange reaction to Tai 99.9% of the time which was hilariously full of: "I AM CRUSHING ON YOU OH GOD PLZ DON'T FIGURE THAT OUT." Tai made him voliatile, weepy and honest. These are the reasons I can never believe that Yamato Ishida is straight.
I wrote so much Taito fic back in the day and it was all bad. T__T I also used to run a pairing shrine. GEEZE, I KNOW! O_O I've been trying to convert my "reasons for" section from the old site into a
ship_manifesto for a while now, but dumb things like school and ORIGINAL WRITING keep getting in the way. Geeze, real life. What do you think you're doing, interferring with fandom! :O Sasuke Uchiha/Naruto Uzumaki [NARUTO]
I totally wrote a 5,000 word essay on this.
Roy Mustang/Edward Elric [FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST]
It's science. I guess that's what it comes down to. I've tried to tell myself that I DON'T actually like this couple that much, but then I really think about it and uh, yeah. There was a reason I wrote so much fic for what is essentially a crack pairing (not really, but I'm just sayin': it's got no canon backing and that's unusual for me).
But yes. Science. Roy and Ed connect on an intellectual level and I think... actually, I have no clue. So sue me- age differences are hot!
Remy "Gambit" LeBeau/Rogue [MARVEL/X-MEN]
There's nothing really more romantic than Gambit and Rogue. I mean, seriously the two are practically a trashy harlequin dime-novel BUT I will make no excuses for loving them because old issues of X-Men featuring their TORRID, TRAGIC love affair still make my heart go: "skippity skip skip SIGH" like a dumb girl who actually goes "skippity skip skip sigh". It's kind of, sort of emotional manipulation on Marvel's part but damn, do they know what works. Rogue and Gambit's relationship hasn't been written well in nearly a decade and I still love it to pieces.
What I love most about them is the way they're definitely two people who had no business falling in love. A charming, woman-loving sleazeball like Gambit devoted to a woman he can't touch? Someone as terrified of intimacy as Rogue attracted to a dog like Gambit? That's classic stuff, folks. Classic.
Oliver Queen/Dinah Lance [DC COMICS/GREEN ARROW]
(I don't like how when I typed "Oliver Queen" into google, the first 10 results were Smallville screenshots. O__O)
I guess you could call Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance the "Gambit and Rogue" of the DC universe- only they're been doing the "on again, off again" dance for thrice as long. A staple couple of the DC universe since the late 60's, their relationship has been an integral part of both characters for the past three decades. Yeah, yeah- so it's deeply ingrained canon. Hey Jenn, aren't you usually the sort that finds canon V. BORING? D:
But, oh, Ollie and Dinah are one for the books. They invented the freaking book (whatever the hell that means). Wrote it after inventing it even. Or not- I actually have some pretty valid reasons for liking this beyond: "OLLIE YOU ARE MY FAVORITEST I WANT YOU TO BE WITH THE WOMAN YOU LOOOOOVE". I mostly enjoy them because they're very... adult. Superhero comics are generally aimed at teenagers and young adults so I've always found that romances are potrayed at a suitably juvenille level. They're all incredibly polarized between: "SEXUAL TENSION AND ANNNGST ZOMG!" and "Marriages are happy, bland and can only be severed by
ALSO! ALSO! They're a couple that fights crime together! You don't actually see that often enough in superhero comics! Yeah, plenty of costumed heroes date each other or happened to be on the same team, but I can't think of many other couples that were a team the way The Green Arrow and The Black Canary were. ♥
I think a lot of this has to do with Grell's superb ability to potray the life of vigilantism in a realistic light. In the old GA comics we got to see Ollie stop political corruption in it's wake! But we also got to see him be a total dork around the house and cook supper for his girlfriend. We got to see Dinah bust up drug rings! But we also got to see her grind her teeth over the monthly finances. They went dancing!
So despite how dumb it's been with them lately, I still am excited at the prospect of them getting married this year in comics. Because they still work well together! And Winick's a bad writer so we can pretend the intentional infedelity didn't happen! (Cheating is only awesome when you're unconcious, Ollie!) (Or when they're sixteen!) (Oh, Ollie, you disgusting pimp). I can also support it because Mike Grell once drew this lovely picture. XDD
Rachel/Tobias [ANIMORPHS]
She was popular and pretty! He was a sarcastic nerd who knew lots about dinosaurs!
He, uh, was also a bird!
I loved all the characters and relationships in Animorphs and pretty much took them for what they were (so, uh, no shipping anything but canon for me ha ha). The reason Rachel/Tobias edged out pretty much everything else for me was NOT because of the "omg melodrama!" KAA knew her readers ate up. It was the brutal honesty in it. I think it's just the kind of people Rachel and Tobias were, but they were both people full of lots of ugly things and there were a lot of ugly patches in their relationship (due to the SHEER impossibility of it, mostly), but they kind of... jumped in headfirst, I suppose, and never really looked back. Sure, they fought and sometimes Rachel was a bloodthirsty freak in battle and sometimes Tobias was embarrassed about eating roadkill but mostly they were pretty accepting of all those grevious flaws they tried to keep hidden from the rest of the world.
Also, that one time when Tobias was a Deinoychus he nearly ate her and she totally forgave him. How is that NOT adorable? ♥
Fox Mulder/Dana Scully [THE X-FILES]
Why? Well, it's Mulder and Scully. They snark and bitch and snipe and make inappropiate sarcastic comments and go through hell together and then Mulder has that adorable puppy dog expression and Scully just rolls her eyes. It might be more of a love for the characters and show as a whole because- even though the last three seasons suck abysimally- 'The X-Files' has long been and probably always will be my favorite television show. Their "two steps forwards, three steps back" relationship was part of the charm of the series. I love how Mulder really *needed* her because he was all lonely and pathetic in his self-induced, self-destructive isolation and I loved how Scully was still fairly normal and could have just walked away whenever she wanted but she didn't because she had such a strong sense of duty and loyalty (and kick-assness because Scully really wore the pants in that dynamic). But I also loved the fact that she sometimes got bitter about the mess he'd gotten her in and he'd sometimes get distant and try to be all: "Secret Agent Man!" and...
.... no, that's pretty much it. ♥
Booster Gold/Blue Beetle [DC COMICS/JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL]
They're one part dorky,
And their theoretical gay relationship is a running joke in canon. There are rumours about them presented in 'Extreme Justice' (I KNOW, I KNOW- WHY WOULD I READ THAT?), Sue threatened to "out" them in 'I Can't Believe it's Not...' and, uh:
Ted: "Get a grip Booster, you're acting like some jilted lover."
Booster: "WELL THAT'S WHAT IT FEELS LIKE!"
*silence*
Booster: "That's- that's not what I meant! Y-you don't think that I'm- I mean, once- ONCE- I accidently went to this website where all these guys were- but I would never, ever-"
Ted: ".... I blame myself-"
Booster: "Blame!?"
Ted: "- for even having this conversation."
- Formerly Known as the Justice League
SRS BZNS comic fans can bitch as much as they want about how annoying it is that "ebil slash fangirls" have taken this friendship out of context for so long it's started leaking into the comics themselves, but seriously: they are each other's most important person. They're emotionally co-depedent and, uh. The way they fight is just... uh, yeah.
I don't really have any illusions about Ted coming back to the DC universe proper what with there being a new Blue Beetle who's actually a pretty good character in a well written series, BUT STILL: Booster's upcoming title is about time travel, so a small part of me is hoping, hoping, hoping for real that Booster might obtain himself a Ted (from the past? from the multiverse?) and they'll live happily ever after as "heterosexual life-partners". Because that's what they are. Totally heterosexual. Like this panel:
Peter and MJ [MARVEL/SPIDERMAN]
616 Peter and MJ, I mean, because of course I'm behind this couple in any Spiderman universe, but it's "old skool" Marvel canon where I think the story has the most punch. I love that they were friends first. I love that she wasn't Peter's first love. I love that he had to ask her to marry him three times. I love their adorable domestic moments (MJ washing the Spiderman suit in the bathtub while Peter sits on the toilet sewing up their laundry ♥). There is something really mythic and moving to their relationship. The fact that it made this list alone should say something about that- I like Spiderman, sure, but I'm not exactly a big fan. I haven't even read much of the series.
Fye D. Flourite/Kurogane [TSUBASA RESERVOIR CHRONICLES]
SO HI, THIS IS MY CLAMP OTP. I know, I know- from such a new series? But what about Subaru and Seishirou? What about Karen and Aoki? Well- let it be known that I like pretty much all canon CLAMP romance, and quite a few non-canon ones as well. However, out of all of them it's this one that resonates with me the strongest. I think Fye and Kurogane are... exactly and definitely everything I like in a pairing, canon or fanon (and honestly- they manage to be both. Canon and fanon, I mean).
Of course they're adorable when they're being ridiculous (Kuro-rin, mommy and daddy and all that), but it's the serious side of their relationship that I fell for. First of all: the ironic juxtaposition between them is hardly elegant or subtle (black and white and all that), but it works brilliantly nevertheless. They just fit together so perfectly, which is lovely and bizarre BECAUSE: CLAMP pretty much shoves the "soul mate: one person for everyone no matter which world" concept down our throats yet Fye and Kurogane aren't even close to being from the same universe. They're pretty much the definition of Hitzuen (well, the whole TRC family is): two people who under any other circumstances could not have possibly met and yet, what would their lives have been had they not?
I love Fye's moments of OOPS! honesty and the way Kurogane had him pinned from day one and doesn't take Fye's: "oh, you mean little ol' me, tee hee?" bullshit.
That's pretty romantic, guys.
Elim Garak/Julian Bashir [STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE]
Oh, well. Y'know. Just the way that Julian was always sparkling about how cool Garak was and Garak would, uh, randomly just BE THERE in his ROOM when he woke up STARING at him (okay, that only happened once but it was tres creepy
Also, there's this:
I know that we've grown apart and that's as it should be. We learn what we can from certain people, then we move on after we've taken what we need. When we learn nothing new about ourselves in a relationship that's when it is over. Or, it is over the moment we are afraid to learn anything new.
- 'A Stitch in Time', Andrew J. Robinson
They played incredibly necessary roles in each other's lives. Between Julian's journey from naive, slightly annoying (okay, REALLY annoying) rookie doctor to SEKRIT AGENT MAAAAN and Garak's noted ability to be less of a cagey, morally challenged nutcase by the end of the series, were transformations that probably never would have happened without each other. So even though they drifted apart by the end of the series, they were still catalystically important to each other and that's totally hot. And then Garak wrote Julian a 300 page letter and Julian read it over and over again. THIS IS ALL POST-SERIES BOOK CANON. OH, DS9).
Plus their onscreen chemistry is one of the most hilarious, adorable and charming things in all of DS9. AND THERE ARE A LOT OF CHARMING THINGS IN DS9. (DS9 I looooove you ♥ ♥ ♥)
Connor Hawke/Eddie Fyres [DC COMICS/GREEN ARROW]
This pairing has apparently never occured to the DC fandom despite it being, uh, really really there. This may or may not have something to do with the fact that Eddie is a dirty, cranky, crass, amoral middle aged man who smokes too much and Connor's a pretty, nineteen year old with questionable sexuality who can, apparently, be easily slashed elsewhere (KYLE RAAAAAYNER!!! *shakes fist*).
BUT! BUT! BUT! These two make me sparkle! Almost the entirety of Connor's run as the Green Arrow was like an extended buddy movie between two people who should never, ever star in a buddy movie together. What with Connor being an even headed Buddhist pacifist and Eddie being a rude and pragmatic murderer. They get along so eerily well for people who tend to be disgusted with each other's life philosophies and no matter how many times they get irritated with each other or decide to quit working side by side, they always end up back together. ♥
And Connor DID kind of affect a change in Eddie that's actually very sweet. Sure, Eddie WAS fairly fond of Ollie after all they'd been through, but he didn't owe him enough that he HAD to look after the guy's son. But he does. Not only does he look after Connor in, uh, his own way, he also does unthinkable things for the kid. Hell- he joined a monastery for him! And once in a while Connor convinces Eddie not to kill (only once in a while, though). Also, being around someone as harsh and brutally practical (in some places, we call that callous) is apparently very good for Connor's naive world view.
Y'KNOW, I DON'T EVEN KNOW. Even in the new mini-series which is all about Chuck Dixon PROVING HOW OMG!STRAIGHT! CONNOR IS (and Eddie picking up chicks half his age, which is actually awesome) there is still this adorable and lovely sense of ease between them. You can just tell that there is no one in the entire world either is more comfortable around. They're, uh, totally made for each other. In the most wrong way possible. ♥
AND OLLIE. WOULD BE SO ANGRY. :D
Trowa Barton/Quatre Raberba Winner [GUNDAM WING]
There is so much war symbolism between these two that I am way, way to exhausted to go into. Besides, I haven't seen Gundam Wing in years. Oddly enough, I like Trowa/Quatre for pretty much the same reasons I love Heero/Relena (they're juxtapositions on the battlefield, who come together harmoniously. SOMETHING LIKE THAT). Their relationship just touches on something I find significant in the themes of the series.
ALSO, THEY MAKE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC TOGETHER. *shot* :D :D :D :D
Orochimaru/Kabuto [NARUTO]
I appreciate how different these two are from the typical: "Villain/right hand man" dynamic. Sure, there's some power issues there but MOSTLY they interact like equals. Kabuto's got his own stuff going on and Orochimaru lets him snark back like no one's business. I mean- Orochimaru guts some random minion for wondering if he's okay and three seconds later Kabuto's calling him an idiot for trying to get out of bed. Also, they totally flirt. Which might have been an accident on Kishimoto's part but my goodness, it's adorable.
It's just kind of awesome how they don't trust each other but are a-okay with that. Like, that general, unspoken acknowledgement that both of them are exactly the same kind of ambitious, slippery, backstabbing assholes means that CAN trust each other because they're watching their backs anyways and, uh... I dunno, they get off on the fact that they CAN'T trust each other?
I don't even know. They're just the best villains in a shounen fighting series ever. XDDDD
Daisuke Motomiya/Ken Ichijouji [DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02]
These two were just too cute. XD I mean- that's all I need to say, really. They are TOO CUTE. Too cute and so damn perfect for each other it's almost hard to believe that the series didn't intend them as a canon couple. Aside from the fact that they spend the second half of the series being all adorable and downright coupley, there's also the fact that they play the part of major catalyst in each other's character development.
On Ken's part it's patently obvious- Daisuke is the one who tries to reach out to him. He was mind-fuked by the Kaizer pretty brutally and yet he forgave Ken instantly. There's something almost classic in the way Daisuke brought Ken to the proverbial light side. I can't phrase it any other way than saying that Daisuke saved Ken's soul. When Ken was alone and depressed and being really damn stupid in all those dark places he went to in the series; when even WORMMON couldn't bring him out of it, Daisuke was always there with an encouraging speech or a good bitchslap to bring him back to reality.
With Daisuke it's a little more subtle. Before he embakred on "project Ken!" Daisuke was kind of foolish and scattered. He had a whole lot of good intentions but no real focus. After the whole fiasco with Ken's conversion and the first Jogress Shinka, Daisuke suddenly becomes the BIG DAMN HERO of the series. He's almost more of a BIG DAMN HERO than Taichi was in 01 (because Tai was always a bit of an asshole ♥), however he is always at his most inspiring when he's trying to inspire Ken. And that's true love. ^__^
DOORMOUSE FACE IS ALSO TRUE LOVE:
Griffith and Guts [BERSERK]
Eh, this one's a little complicated and I think that
ew_younerd pretty much sums it up perfectly. I feel like I need to say something intelligent about them, but I just don't have that in me while studying boring Greek History. :P I also used the dumbest panel ever above. Ha ha.Xellos/Filia [SLAYERS]
So to put it in D&D terms it's like a Chaotic Evil devil and a Lawful Good cleric developing a thing for each other. It's the ultimate "love/hate" dynamic to the point where their races kind of exist in order to combat each other. And man, they hate each other and have SO MUCH FUN arguing and he's all: "BTW I killed THOUSANDS OF YOUR PEOPLE in that last war we had." which is..... actually kind of disgusting, but since it's Slayers it disgusting in a cute way.
So I've got nothing really deep to say about this. It's like how Xellos has a creepy-Mazoku crush on Lina, he totally has creepy-Mazoku interest in Filia. He's always poking and prodding her because he wants to see what's she's capable of or how she'll react in certain situations. It's so random, but by the end of TRY he pretty much admits that he adores her meanwhile she's all: "Ha ha, Xellos STFU". I don't really expect anything to come of it except that he'll probably be hanging around to irritate her until the end of time after the rest of the Slayers die.
Guy Gardner/Tora Olafsdotter [DC COMICS/JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL]
It's a "beauty and the beast" kind of thing, but only more awesome because no matter how much good Tora looked for in Guy, she didn't really find it in the capacity she was searching for. What she found instead was unexpected sincereity and passion. So yeah, Guy was a complete and utter PIG to her most of the time, but damn, he loved her.
(plus, when ISN'T Guy a total pig?)
Also, so, uh, didn't they just break your heart in 'I Can't Believe It's Not...'? BECAUSE MY HEART. IT WAS BROKEN. And I didn't even know the characters that well. And then I went back and read old JLI and, wow. It broke my heart again. A little worse this time.
Actually, speaking of that scan I think Ted's line pretty much summed it up: "She was maybe- MAYBE- the only person Guy Gardner ever truly cared about besides himself." OUCH. And when he wasn't being a jerk he made he so inexplicably happy. ADORABLE. HEY, EVERYONE ON BIRDS OF PREY, PLZ TO BE NOT WAITING SEVERAL MONTHS TO TELL GUY THAT SHE'S ALIVE KTHX?