OTP nostalgia meme
The OTP nostalgia meme, from lysimache, of course, who did it first here. Come on, everybody do it!
Name your true OTPs, in the order you discovered them. Starting with your very first OTP, maybe from back before you knew the Internet existed, and going up to your current fannish love, these are your *real* OTPs: the ones where you reread the archives every few years, keep the icons, own the DVDs, know the canon backwards and forwards, and absolutely cannot stand to think of them paired with anyone else. :)
For each one:
1. Post a picture.
2. List one reason you still ship them.
3. List one canon moment you can't forget.
4. List one fanfic you read again and again.
5. List one vid you love to bits.
Okay, here goes. All my pics are LJ-hosted. Clicking 'em takes you to my ScrapBook page where you can see a bigger version.
I must confess to starting off shipping Riker/Troi, before the internet. I no longer remember why I liked them. Okay, it was because Troi was pretty. And then came the Internet...
Star Trek TOS: Kirk/Spock
One Reason: I shipped them before I knew what slash was. I just knew they loved each other. Seriously. I spent high school reading stories on the ASC archive about Kirk and Spock's relationship; I was reading the all-ages archive, so I didn't even know people wrote stories with sex in them. I just thought it was, you know, stories about the way Kirk and Spock clearly meant the world to each other.
One Moment: It's a tossup, but I have to go for the end of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. You know, the quintessential slashers' moment. Spock has just received a fatal dose of radiation and is sitting in quarantine waiting to die. Kirk comes to see him, and cannot touch him, and they make their goodbyes with their hands pressed against each other on either side of the pane of glass. *sniff* (In case you've never seen it, it's on YouTube here.)
One Fic: Killa's Bitter Glass is a very good, very long read, about all the relationships Spock has had over the years. Including, of course, James T. Kirk. This was one of the stories I loved, back when I didn't know I was reading slash.
One Vid: Oh, probably Killa and T. Jonesy's "Closer." Which has, I think, been removed from the net since it got all that press -- not linking, but you can probably find it if you haven't seen it. I wish it hadn't gotten the publicity, because it reads much better in fandom than out of it. "Ha ha, Kirk and Spock are having sex" is not really as interesting a theme as, y'know, pon farr.
Babylon 5: Ivanova/Talia
One Reason: Because it's canon. No, seriously, it is.
One Moment: The end of "A Race Through Dark Places." Ivanova has been insisting the Corps were evil; Talia was a loyal member. After the rogue telepath debacle, Talia begins to suspect the Corps might not be as wonderful as she thought. Late that night, she comes over to Ivanova's quarters to apologize, with a bottle of wine, and asks to "re-evaluate their relationship." She takes off her Psi Corps pin and they start to talk...
One Fic: There's not much out there, so let's say The Orpheus Journey by Rebecca Hall.
One Vid: Media Cannibals, "Ice." Yes, the Sarah McLachlan song. Sadly, this vid, like most of the Media Cannibals' stuff, has not yet made its way to the internet, but it is awesome. Very slow, and full of, well, angst, which is what you'd expect given the pairing.
X-Men: Iceman/Gambit
(Anyone know whose artwork this is? I thought it was Glockgal's, but it's not on her site...)
One Reason: This was the first slash pairing I read that really got me into *slash* in a big way; I'd been reading Logan/Rogue after the movie and wandered into the comics side of the fandom. Sure, I read K/S, but that was just because Kirk and Spock loved each other. This I got into because it was slash, and the fic was hot.
One Moment: Uh, do they really talk in canon? I read a bunch of comics but I'm not sure they had much time together.
One Fic: The Kinda Mooks series, by Kaylee-Jaya with other authors. The series made me a slasher, what can I say? Remy, still hurt from his time in Antarctica, meets Bobby, who wants to be more than just the team prankster.
One Vid: n/a. Unless there is one.
The Sentinel: Jim/Blair
One Reason: They were the first pairing I got into in a major, major, read the whole 852 Prospect archive way. Also, they live together. The show is not, strictly speaking, *good*, but it is awfully fun and slashy. You are guaranteed to see a chase scene involving every kind of vehicle ever. I blame eruthros.
One Moment: The one when Blair moves in temporarily. And then stays for four years. Not that I remember the name of the episode or anything. Wait, Google tells me it's "The Debt."
One Fic: You know, I could rec a long plotty casefic, but I'm gonna go with Mallory Klohn, Kids Under Twelve Drink Free, which I totally forgot about until it ended up on crack_van a while back. Anyway. Jim and Blair go to Vegas, and it's awesome.
One Vid: Media Cannibals, "Walking on a Wire." Yet another vid that's not on the net.
Due South: Fraser/Kowalski
One Reason: They certainly weren't my first fandom, but if I had to name my OTP of OTPs, it'd be these guys. The warm fuzzy feelings I get are the warmest and fuzziest of all. Plus I firmly believe they are the slashiest. There's just no other way to interpret it. It also happens to be the fandom where I met a lot of people I like a lot. [heart]. (Yes, including lysimache. Oh, and if not for Bindlestitch I wouldn't have met antigone921, who is an awesome person. It's Bindlestitch's fault I got an LJ in the first place, and all the first people I had friended are from there. Hi guys.)
One Moment: Just one? Okay, how about the buddy-breathing in "Mountie on the Bounty"? Woohoo! Plus, you know, the conversation afterwards.
Ray: What was that, Fraser?
Fraser: What was what?
Ray: That thing you were doing with your mouth.
Fraser: Oh, that. That's buddy breathing. You seemed to be in a bit of a, well, having a problem. I have excess lung capacity, so. . .
Ray: Buddy breathing.
Fraser: Standard procedure.
Ray: Good. . . Okay. . . All right. . . Nothing's, like, changed or anything, right?
Fraser: No.
Ray: Okay.
Fraser: Yeah.
Ray: Thanks.
Fraser: You're thanking me?
Ray: Look, don't get too excited, Fraser. The jury's still out on this partnership thing, okay?
Fraser: Oh, well, don't worry, Mr. Instinct, I'm not excited.
(You can watch the whole scene on YouTube.)
One Fic: So many choices! I think I gotta go with Resonant's Broadway Hotel. Short, but awesome. Set post-"Call of the Wild," Ray returns to Chicago after the expedition and has to learn to be Ray Kowalski again. Pretty much everything I like about, well, Ray. (Fraser's mostly there in flashback.)
One Vid: Media Cannibals, "The Rest (Will Take Care of Itself)." The first F/K vid I saw, and still the best. I learned to vid because I liked this one so much. I hope someday they put it on the net. Okay, okay, you want one you can watch? Here's Luck's Out Here (scroll down to DS, duh) is very good, and I'm glad she made it -- I had a half-finished plan for the same song, same fandom, same focus sitting on my hard drive, and this is way better than I could ever have done.
Hard Core Logo: Joe/Billy
One Reason: I believe every F/K fan is legally required to get into this fandom next. Plus, they love each other, in a completely fucked-up way.
One Moment: Oh, probably the Mary the Fan scene, where we find out Joe and Billy were involved.
One Fic: Mairead Triste, A Few Highlights from my Very Favorite Imaginary Show. Crossover with, um, Iron Chef. Because we all like happy fic in this fandom, right?
One Vid: I actually haven't watched any other than the one I made; I feel recommending my own vid would be declassé.
X-Files: Mulder/Krycek
One Reason: They are the enemyslash pairing of which all other enemyslash pairings are but pale imitations.
One Moment: In "Piper Maru," when Mulder tracks down Krycek and slams him up against the bank of pay phones. Seriously, I like that more than the time they kissed. What is wrong with me?
One Fic: There can be only one. May it be Ghosts, by Torch.
One Vid: No, I'm not reccing mine! I really liked Luminosity's "Every Me Every You" vid, but it doesn't appear to be on her site. I'm not gonna link to the version someone put up on YouTube.
Firefly: Kaylee/Inara
One Reason: Because they love each other. Also, dude, Inara canonically sleeps with girls for fun.
One Moment: The kiss in "Ariel." Awww.
One Fic: *cough* Gnomic, by Lysimache. Also was the first K/I fic.
One Vid: Don't think anyone's made any.
Starsky & Hutch: Starsky/Hutch
(Can you guys believe that this is an actual promo pic? No, really.)
One Reason: Apparently there was a time during the 70s when men were actually allowed to talk about their feelings. Luckily, this was during the time they made Starsky and Hutch.
One Moment: The conversation at the end of "Death in a Different Place," which is the episode we learn that Hutch's old mentor was gay (and, y'know, dead). Naturally, S&H discuss what they think of this:
Hutch: Starsk, it's no big thing.
Starsky: Hey, you're not that sophisticated. I mean, a man preferring a man is not as casual as someone having a bad cold.
Hutch: Is that right?
Starsky: Yeah. I mean, I'm not taking a position for or against it, but it is something to contend with. I mean, it's not your usual everyday thing.
Hutch: Right. Hey, you wanna get something to eat?
Starsky: No. I wouldn't mind something to drink.
Hutch: Starsk, would you consider that, uh, a man who spends seventy-five percent of his time with another man has got certain tendencies?
Starsky: Seventy-five? You mean three-quarters?
Hutch: Right.
Starsky: Yeah, sure. Why not? I mean, that was the case between John and--
Hutch: No, no, that's the case between you and me.
Starsky: What?
Hutch: Well, figure it out. In a five-day week, there are about eighty waking hours, right?
Starsky: Yeah...
Hutch: We work, eat, and drink about twelve of those hours, right? That's sixty hours a week, seventy-five percent of the time we spend together and you're not even a good kisser.
Starsky: How do you know that?
(YT link here.)
One Fic: Flamingo's Total Eclipse of the Heart. A novel-length post-series story about the S/H relationship. I haven't read it in a while, but I remember liking it a lot.
One Vid: Laura McEwan, You're My Best Friend. Because, awwwww.
The Professionals: Bodie/Doyle
One Reason: My current (like, as of this week) obsession! It's, like, the only major slash fandom I've never read anything in! Plus apparently they're slashy. And Cousin Steve is in the show. So I'm all excited that I get to have a shiny new/old fandom.
One Moment: Ask me again after I've seen the show, okay?
One Fic: The Cook and the Warehouseman by Helen Raven. Bodie is a CI5 agent. Doyle is a mask-wearing alien who asks Bodie to marry him, and Bodie goes back to his planet.
One Vid: Media Cannibals, "A Fire Is Burning." Not one of the shippiest, but very action-packed. I just saw it today, but already I love it. This one actually is online! It's here at the Circuit Archive, along wih a lot of other vids.
Whew.
Name your true OTPs, in the order you discovered them. Starting with your very first OTP, maybe from back before you knew the Internet existed, and going up to your current fannish love, these are your *real* OTPs: the ones where you reread the archives every few years, keep the icons, own the DVDs, know the canon backwards and forwards, and absolutely cannot stand to think of them paired with anyone else. :)
For each one:
1. Post a picture.
2. List one reason you still ship them.
3. List one canon moment you can't forget.
4. List one fanfic you read again and again.
5. List one vid you love to bits.
Okay, here goes. All my pics are LJ-hosted. Clicking 'em takes you to my ScrapBook page where you can see a bigger version.
I must confess to starting off shipping Riker/Troi, before the internet. I no longer remember why I liked them. Okay, it was because Troi was pretty. And then came the Internet...
Star Trek TOS: Kirk/Spock
One Reason: I shipped them before I knew what slash was. I just knew they loved each other. Seriously. I spent high school reading stories on the ASC archive about Kirk and Spock's relationship; I was reading the all-ages archive, so I didn't even know people wrote stories with sex in them. I just thought it was, you know, stories about the way Kirk and Spock clearly meant the world to each other.
One Moment: It's a tossup, but I have to go for the end of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. You know, the quintessential slashers' moment. Spock has just received a fatal dose of radiation and is sitting in quarantine waiting to die. Kirk comes to see him, and cannot touch him, and they make their goodbyes with their hands pressed against each other on either side of the pane of glass. *sniff* (In case you've never seen it, it's on YouTube here.)
One Fic: Killa's Bitter Glass is a very good, very long read, about all the relationships Spock has had over the years. Including, of course, James T. Kirk. This was one of the stories I loved, back when I didn't know I was reading slash.
One Vid: Oh, probably Killa and T. Jonesy's "Closer." Which has, I think, been removed from the net since it got all that press -- not linking, but you can probably find it if you haven't seen it. I wish it hadn't gotten the publicity, because it reads much better in fandom than out of it. "Ha ha, Kirk and Spock are having sex" is not really as interesting a theme as, y'know, pon farr.
Babylon 5: Ivanova/Talia
One Reason: Because it's canon. No, seriously, it is.
One Moment: The end of "A Race Through Dark Places." Ivanova has been insisting the Corps were evil; Talia was a loyal member. After the rogue telepath debacle, Talia begins to suspect the Corps might not be as wonderful as she thought. Late that night, she comes over to Ivanova's quarters to apologize, with a bottle of wine, and asks to "re-evaluate their relationship." She takes off her Psi Corps pin and they start to talk...
One Fic: There's not much out there, so let's say The Orpheus Journey by Rebecca Hall.
One Vid: Media Cannibals, "Ice." Yes, the Sarah McLachlan song. Sadly, this vid, like most of the Media Cannibals' stuff, has not yet made its way to the internet, but it is awesome. Very slow, and full of, well, angst, which is what you'd expect given the pairing.
X-Men: Iceman/Gambit
(Anyone know whose artwork this is? I thought it was Glockgal's, but it's not on her site...)
One Reason: This was the first slash pairing I read that really got me into *slash* in a big way; I'd been reading Logan/Rogue after the movie and wandered into the comics side of the fandom. Sure, I read K/S, but that was just because Kirk and Spock loved each other. This I got into because it was slash, and the fic was hot.
One Moment: Uh, do they really talk in canon? I read a bunch of comics but I'm not sure they had much time together.
One Fic: The Kinda Mooks series, by Kaylee-Jaya with other authors. The series made me a slasher, what can I say? Remy, still hurt from his time in Antarctica, meets Bobby, who wants to be more than just the team prankster.
One Vid: n/a. Unless there is one.
The Sentinel: Jim/Blair
One Reason: They were the first pairing I got into in a major, major, read the whole 852 Prospect archive way. Also, they live together. The show is not, strictly speaking, *good*, but it is awfully fun and slashy. You are guaranteed to see a chase scene involving every kind of vehicle ever. I blame eruthros.
One Moment: The one when Blair moves in temporarily. And then stays for four years. Not that I remember the name of the episode or anything. Wait, Google tells me it's "The Debt."
One Fic: You know, I could rec a long plotty casefic, but I'm gonna go with Mallory Klohn, Kids Under Twelve Drink Free, which I totally forgot about until it ended up on crack_van a while back. Anyway. Jim and Blair go to Vegas, and it's awesome.
One Vid: Media Cannibals, "Walking on a Wire." Yet another vid that's not on the net.
Due South: Fraser/Kowalski
One Reason: They certainly weren't my first fandom, but if I had to name my OTP of OTPs, it'd be these guys. The warm fuzzy feelings I get are the warmest and fuzziest of all. Plus I firmly believe they are the slashiest. There's just no other way to interpret it. It also happens to be the fandom where I met a lot of people I like a lot. [heart]. (Yes, including lysimache. Oh, and if not for Bindlestitch I wouldn't have met antigone921, who is an awesome person. It's Bindlestitch's fault I got an LJ in the first place, and all the first people I had friended are from there. Hi guys.)
One Moment: Just one? Okay, how about the buddy-breathing in "Mountie on the Bounty"? Woohoo! Plus, you know, the conversation afterwards.
Ray: What was that, Fraser?
Fraser: What was what?
Ray: That thing you were doing with your mouth.
Fraser: Oh, that. That's buddy breathing. You seemed to be in a bit of a, well, having a problem. I have excess lung capacity, so. . .
Ray: Buddy breathing.
Fraser: Standard procedure.
Ray: Good. . . Okay. . . All right. . . Nothing's, like, changed or anything, right?
Fraser: No.
Ray: Okay.
Fraser: Yeah.
Ray: Thanks.
Fraser: You're thanking me?
Ray: Look, don't get too excited, Fraser. The jury's still out on this partnership thing, okay?
Fraser: Oh, well, don't worry, Mr. Instinct, I'm not excited.
(You can watch the whole scene on YouTube.)
One Fic: So many choices! I think I gotta go with Resonant's Broadway Hotel. Short, but awesome. Set post-"Call of the Wild," Ray returns to Chicago after the expedition and has to learn to be Ray Kowalski again. Pretty much everything I like about, well, Ray. (Fraser's mostly there in flashback.)
One Vid: Media Cannibals, "The Rest (Will Take Care of Itself)." The first F/K vid I saw, and still the best. I learned to vid because I liked this one so much. I hope someday they put it on the net. Okay, okay, you want one you can watch? Here's Luck's Out Here (scroll down to DS, duh) is very good, and I'm glad she made it -- I had a half-finished plan for the same song, same fandom, same focus sitting on my hard drive, and this is way better than I could ever have done.
Hard Core Logo: Joe/Billy
One Reason: I believe every F/K fan is legally required to get into this fandom next. Plus, they love each other, in a completely fucked-up way.
One Moment: Oh, probably the Mary the Fan scene, where we find out Joe and Billy were involved.
One Fic: Mairead Triste, A Few Highlights from my Very Favorite Imaginary Show. Crossover with, um, Iron Chef. Because we all like happy fic in this fandom, right?
One Vid: I actually haven't watched any other than the one I made; I feel recommending my own vid would be declassé.
X-Files: Mulder/Krycek
One Reason: They are the enemyslash pairing of which all other enemyslash pairings are but pale imitations.
One Moment: In "Piper Maru," when Mulder tracks down Krycek and slams him up against the bank of pay phones. Seriously, I like that more than the time they kissed. What is wrong with me?
One Fic: There can be only one. May it be Ghosts, by Torch.
One Vid: No, I'm not reccing mine! I really liked Luminosity's "Every Me Every You" vid, but it doesn't appear to be on her site. I'm not gonna link to the version someone put up on YouTube.
Firefly: Kaylee/Inara
One Reason: Because they love each other. Also, dude, Inara canonically sleeps with girls for fun.
One Moment: The kiss in "Ariel." Awww.
One Fic: *cough* Gnomic, by Lysimache. Also was the first K/I fic.
One Vid: Don't think anyone's made any.
Starsky & Hutch: Starsky/Hutch
(Can you guys believe that this is an actual promo pic? No, really.)
One Reason: Apparently there was a time during the 70s when men were actually allowed to talk about their feelings. Luckily, this was during the time they made Starsky and Hutch.
One Moment: The conversation at the end of "Death in a Different Place," which is the episode we learn that Hutch's old mentor was gay (and, y'know, dead). Naturally, S&H discuss what they think of this:
Hutch: Starsk, it's no big thing.
Starsky: Hey, you're not that sophisticated. I mean, a man preferring a man is not as casual as someone having a bad cold.
Hutch: Is that right?
Starsky: Yeah. I mean, I'm not taking a position for or against it, but it is something to contend with. I mean, it's not your usual everyday thing.
Hutch: Right. Hey, you wanna get something to eat?
Starsky: No. I wouldn't mind something to drink.
Hutch: Starsk, would you consider that, uh, a man who spends seventy-five percent of his time with another man has got certain tendencies?
Starsky: Seventy-five? You mean three-quarters?
Hutch: Right.
Starsky: Yeah, sure. Why not? I mean, that was the case between John and--
Hutch: No, no, that's the case between you and me.
Starsky: What?
Hutch: Well, figure it out. In a five-day week, there are about eighty waking hours, right?
Starsky: Yeah...
Hutch: We work, eat, and drink about twelve of those hours, right? That's sixty hours a week, seventy-five percent of the time we spend together and you're not even a good kisser.
Starsky: How do you know that?
(YT link here.)
One Fic: Flamingo's Total Eclipse of the Heart. A novel-length post-series story about the S/H relationship. I haven't read it in a while, but I remember liking it a lot.
One Vid: Laura McEwan, You're My Best Friend. Because, awwwww.
The Professionals: Bodie/Doyle
One Reason: My current (like, as of this week) obsession! It's, like, the only major slash fandom I've never read anything in! Plus apparently they're slashy. And Cousin Steve is in the show. So I'm all excited that I get to have a shiny new/old fandom.
One Moment: Ask me again after I've seen the show, okay?
One Fic: The Cook and the Warehouseman by Helen Raven. Bodie is a CI5 agent. Doyle is a mask-wearing alien who asks Bodie to marry him, and Bodie goes back to his planet.
One Vid: Media Cannibals, "A Fire Is Burning." Not one of the shippiest, but very action-packed. I just saw it today, but already I love it. This one actually is online! It's here at the Circuit Archive, along wih a lot of other vids.
Whew.