more shipping meme answers
I'm still happy to talk about more characters if anyone's interested; you can request a character here or in the comments on the original meme post.
flo_nelja asked for Giles (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).
OTP: Giles/Oz. I can't claim a smidge of canonical subtext for these two, but I think they'd be great together. They're both smart, quiet, and gentle, with a core of rigorously-controlled wildness. And they both love music--Oz does canonically admire Giles's record collection. What better basis for true love?
Runner-up: Giles/Ethan, which is really my other Giles OTP. It cedes first place here because their history and Ethan's chaotic tendencies would lead to a more difficult relationship than Giles/Oz. Where I see Giles/Oz as happily domestic, Giles and Ethan are more the sort of couple who love each other passionately but can never stay together for long.
Honorable mentions: Giles/Wesley, although there's only a narrow window where I think it's possible--after Wesley loosens up a bit but before he turns into Scary Wesley due to the Connor debacle.
Crack pairings: Giles/John Constantine, in the heady days of their youth. Giles/Remus Lupin in the hands of the rare writers who can make the crossover work. Giles/Eighth Doctor, which I've never seen but I think could be interesting.
Pairing everyone else seems to like but I don't: Giles/Xander, even though I think Xander's crush on Giles is pretty much canon. In the end, they just don't like each other enough. Xander would soon start to find Giles humorless and stuffy, and Giles would find Xander unbearably silly. Also, on the canonical side, Giles/Jenny. I loathe the way she treats him as a project, as something to be improved.
mcicioni asked about Lucius Vorenus (Rome).
OTP: Vorenus/Pullo, of course. It's canon that they love each other best, and I think Pullo would find ways to get around Vorenus's hang-ups about Roman masculinity. Non-penetrative sex is a good option (all too frequently overlooked in fanfic), and I think Pullo would also be willing to let Vorenus fuck him. And then willing, if necessary, to beat Vorenus up the next day to prove that being fucked didn't make Pullo weak or lesser.
Runner-up: I would actually have liked Vorenus/Niobe if he'd treated her better.
Honorable mentions: Vorenus/Mark Antony. I almost put this in the crack category, as it's based almost entirely on the astonishingly sexualized scene of Antony's suicide. But they do have a vibe, although it's a horribly dysfunctional one because Antony is a bully and a rapist.
Crack pairings: It's hard to imagine crack pairings for Vorenus, since the man's a hopeless puritan. I think even fandom's strongest puritan-solvent, Jack Harkness, might not succeed with him.
Pairing everyone else seems to like but I don't: None.
Also for mcicioni, Robert Lewis (Inspector Morse and Lewis).
OTP: Lewis/Hathaway, I guess. It's a pairing I like a lot, and there's plentiful subtext in canon, but it's not always easy to see how they would actually get together.
Runner-up: Lewis's canonical relationship with his wife Val seems to have been a very strong one. I'm not interested in fanfic about it, but I'm happy with it as canon.
Honorable mentions: Lewis/Morse, sort of. Lewis's grief for Morse is deep and long-lasting; at some point I should watch Inspector Morse (I've only ever seen a few episodes) to see if they had subtext.
Crack pairings: Interesting things might have happened if Lewis and Wield (from Dalziel and Pascoe) had met before Wield met his partner.
Pairing everyone else seems to like but I don't: None, apart from my general uninterest in het pairings.
sallymn asked about Vila (Blake's 7).
OTP: Don't have one. Which is weird, considering it's me.
Runner-up: I really like Vila/Gan as a friends-with-benefits kind of thing, but I don't see them as lovers, exactly.
Honorable mentions: None. *hangs head* I'm sorry, I just don't have many Vila ships.
Crack pairings: Vila/Leela, anyone? Vila's a natural follower, and Leela's a natural leader, I think. She'd admire his cleverness, he'd admire her strength and bravery.
Pairing everyone else seems to like but I don't: I'm afraid I really don't see Vila/Avon as workable. I can see how they might end up in bed together, but for me the possibility of anything more falters on Avon's behavior. He'd be horrible to Vila, and Vila (unlike Blake) isn't arrogant/impervious enough to shrug it off. I know this is an OTP for some folks (sorry, guys) but it doesn't work for me.
lady_twatterby asked about Vetinari (Discworld).
OTP: Vetinari/Drumknott. There's mutual trust and mutual respect (for example, Vetinari canonically asks Drumknott's opinion about things). And importantly (since Vetinari, as absolute ruler, can't have a fully equal relationship with anyone) Drumknott is willing--indeed, happy--to be led. In their private relationship, as I see it (i.e., based entirely on my own fanon), Drumknott actually does take more of a leading role--he's more sexually experienced than Vetinari and more comfortable with both sex and emotions--but even then, Drumknott values Vetinari's comfort and happiness far more than his own. Vetinari, meanwhile, values the city and its needs over either of them personally, which Drumknott can accept.
Runner-up: Vetinari/Vimes. There are more difficulties than Vetinari/Drumknott (Vimes's distrust and of course Vimes's marriage), but there's a lot of interesting potential between them. It's very fraught, though--Vetinari would inevitably try to manipulate Vimes (he doesn't need to manipulate Drumknott), which Vimes would resent. I could easily see them making each other quite unhappy.
Honorable mentions: There's a great AU fic to be written about Vetinari deciding that the best way to deal with young Carrot's potential kingship is to seduce him and train him up to be the next Patrician.
Crack pairings: Vetinari/Ponder Stibbons, maybe? They canonically admire each other's competence, which must be a rare feeling for both of them. Or how about Vetinari/Delgado!Master? The Master would eventually leave in a huff on realizing that Vetinari really doesn't want to rule the Disc, let alone the universe, and cannot be convinced otherwise. But before that happened the snark would be epic, and so would the sexin'.
Pairing everyone else seems to like but I don't: I only like Vetinari/Margolotta in its original context, when they met during Vetinari's Grand Sneer; I absolutely don't see them picking up the relationship later. And Vetinari/Grace Speaker, which has a number of shippers even though Grace Speaker isn't even properly in the books (she's only ever mentioned, and then just because Vetinari finds her unnervingly good at crosswords), just baffles me.
flo_nelja asked for Giles (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).
OTP: Giles/Oz. I can't claim a smidge of canonical subtext for these two, but I think they'd be great together. They're both smart, quiet, and gentle, with a core of rigorously-controlled wildness. And they both love music--Oz does canonically admire Giles's record collection. What better basis for true love?
Runner-up: Giles/Ethan, which is really my other Giles OTP. It cedes first place here because their history and Ethan's chaotic tendencies would lead to a more difficult relationship than Giles/Oz. Where I see Giles/Oz as happily domestic, Giles and Ethan are more the sort of couple who love each other passionately but can never stay together for long.
Honorable mentions: Giles/Wesley, although there's only a narrow window where I think it's possible--after Wesley loosens up a bit but before he turns into Scary Wesley due to the Connor debacle.
Crack pairings: Giles/John Constantine, in the heady days of their youth. Giles/Remus Lupin in the hands of the rare writers who can make the crossover work. Giles/Eighth Doctor, which I've never seen but I think could be interesting.
Pairing everyone else seems to like but I don't: Giles/Xander, even though I think Xander's crush on Giles is pretty much canon. In the end, they just don't like each other enough. Xander would soon start to find Giles humorless and stuffy, and Giles would find Xander unbearably silly. Also, on the canonical side, Giles/Jenny. I loathe the way she treats him as a project, as something to be improved.
mcicioni asked about Lucius Vorenus (Rome).
OTP: Vorenus/Pullo, of course. It's canon that they love each other best, and I think Pullo would find ways to get around Vorenus's hang-ups about Roman masculinity. Non-penetrative sex is a good option (all too frequently overlooked in fanfic), and I think Pullo would also be willing to let Vorenus fuck him. And then willing, if necessary, to beat Vorenus up the next day to prove that being fucked didn't make Pullo weak or lesser.
Runner-up: I would actually have liked Vorenus/Niobe if he'd treated her better.
Honorable mentions: Vorenus/Mark Antony. I almost put this in the crack category, as it's based almost entirely on the astonishingly sexualized scene of Antony's suicide. But they do have a vibe, although it's a horribly dysfunctional one because Antony is a bully and a rapist.
Crack pairings: It's hard to imagine crack pairings for Vorenus, since the man's a hopeless puritan. I think even fandom's strongest puritan-solvent, Jack Harkness, might not succeed with him.
Pairing everyone else seems to like but I don't: None.
Also for mcicioni, Robert Lewis (Inspector Morse and Lewis).
OTP: Lewis/Hathaway, I guess. It's a pairing I like a lot, and there's plentiful subtext in canon, but it's not always easy to see how they would actually get together.
Runner-up: Lewis's canonical relationship with his wife Val seems to have been a very strong one. I'm not interested in fanfic about it, but I'm happy with it as canon.
Honorable mentions: Lewis/Morse, sort of. Lewis's grief for Morse is deep and long-lasting; at some point I should watch Inspector Morse (I've only ever seen a few episodes) to see if they had subtext.
Crack pairings: Interesting things might have happened if Lewis and Wield (from Dalziel and Pascoe) had met before Wield met his partner.
Pairing everyone else seems to like but I don't: None, apart from my general uninterest in het pairings.
sallymn asked about Vila (Blake's 7).
OTP: Don't have one. Which is weird, considering it's me.
Runner-up: I really like Vila/Gan as a friends-with-benefits kind of thing, but I don't see them as lovers, exactly.
Honorable mentions: None. *hangs head* I'm sorry, I just don't have many Vila ships.
Crack pairings: Vila/Leela, anyone? Vila's a natural follower, and Leela's a natural leader, I think. She'd admire his cleverness, he'd admire her strength and bravery.
Pairing everyone else seems to like but I don't: I'm afraid I really don't see Vila/Avon as workable. I can see how they might end up in bed together, but for me the possibility of anything more falters on Avon's behavior. He'd be horrible to Vila, and Vila (unlike Blake) isn't arrogant/impervious enough to shrug it off. I know this is an OTP for some folks (sorry, guys) but it doesn't work for me.
lady_twatterby asked about Vetinari (Discworld).
OTP: Vetinari/Drumknott. There's mutual trust and mutual respect (for example, Vetinari canonically asks Drumknott's opinion about things). And importantly (since Vetinari, as absolute ruler, can't have a fully equal relationship with anyone) Drumknott is willing--indeed, happy--to be led. In their private relationship, as I see it (i.e., based entirely on my own fanon), Drumknott actually does take more of a leading role--he's more sexually experienced than Vetinari and more comfortable with both sex and emotions--but even then, Drumknott values Vetinari's comfort and happiness far more than his own. Vetinari, meanwhile, values the city and its needs over either of them personally, which Drumknott can accept.
Runner-up: Vetinari/Vimes. There are more difficulties than Vetinari/Drumknott (Vimes's distrust and of course Vimes's marriage), but there's a lot of interesting potential between them. It's very fraught, though--Vetinari would inevitably try to manipulate Vimes (he doesn't need to manipulate Drumknott), which Vimes would resent. I could easily see them making each other quite unhappy.
Honorable mentions: There's a great AU fic to be written about Vetinari deciding that the best way to deal with young Carrot's potential kingship is to seduce him and train him up to be the next Patrician.
Crack pairings: Vetinari/Ponder Stibbons, maybe? They canonically admire each other's competence, which must be a rare feeling for both of them. Or how about Vetinari/Delgado!Master? The Master would eventually leave in a huff on realizing that Vetinari really doesn't want to rule the Disc, let alone the universe, and cannot be convinced otherwise. But before that happened the snark would be epic, and so would the sexin'.
Pairing everyone else seems to like but I don't: I only like Vetinari/Margolotta in its original context, when they met during Vetinari's Grand Sneer; I absolutely don't see them picking up the relationship later. And Vetinari/Grace Speaker, which has a number of shippers even though Grace Speaker isn't even properly in the books (she's only ever mentioned, and then just because Vetinari finds her unnervingly good at crosswords), just baffles me.