Five OTPs meme

[john_amend_all]

Memed from thisbluespirit and luckweaver:

Choose 5 OTP’s without looking at the questions behind the cut first, then tag friends to do the same.

According to AO3's distinctly unreliable tag count, I have written precisely five pairings more than once (all in or partly in the Doctor Who fandom), so let's go with them:

1. Sam / Jamie
2. Liz / Silver (Sapphire and Steel crossover)
3. Ace / Shou Yuing
4. Vicki / Steven
5. Zoë / Isobel

(Would it be worth my writing a JavaScript page for this meme, like I did for 12 Characters? I don't think this one's got quite the same replay value).

1. Do you remember the episode/scene/chapter that you first started shipping 5 [Zoë / Isobel]?

Not really. I think it came more from how fandom sees them. It'd be interesting, now that I routinely write them as a couple, to go back to the Jamie's Angels setting where Isobel's married to Captain Turner.

2. Have you ever read fanfiction about 2 [Liz / Silver]?

Yes, and written it too. Here it is, all six of it.

3. Has a picture of 4 [Vicki / Steven] ever been your screen saver/profile picture/tumblr ID?

No. I'm aware that there are people who define themselves by their OTP, but I've never felt particularly inclined to follow suit. Do you a banner for unconventionalcourtship if you like, though.

4. If 3 [Ace / Shou Yuing] were suddenly to break up today, what would your reaction be?

Since they're only ever together in fanfic, this question is somewhat moot.

5. Why is 1 [Sam / Jamie] so important?

That sounds like asking why Tesco apple and elderflower ice lollies are important. They aren't. They're fun but by no means essential.

6. Is 4 [Steven / Vicki] a funny ship or a serious ship?

It's certainly not serious (it only made my list because a random generator once chose to pair them), so I suppose that makes it a funny ship.

7. Out of all your ships listed, which ship has the most chemistry?

Sam / Jamie has actual canon snogging. On the other hand, Ace / Shou Yuing is the one where they'd actually mix up chemical substances best left unmixed.

8. Of all the ships, which ship has the strongest bond?

What are they, contact adhesive? I think probably Zoë / Isobel, at least the way I write them.

9. How many times have you read/watched 2 [Liz / Silver]’s fandom?

Depends which one. Doctor Who I've watched hrair times, Sapphire and Steel once.

10. Which ship lasted the longest?

Since all the ships are fannish works of invention, the only evidence I can produce is fan writing. In which case, for Liz/Silver, Scientific Spirit covers 1970 up to Liz's eventual demise.

11. How many times, if ever, has 5 [Zoë / Isobel] broken up?

In the fannish current of thought which gave rise to this ship, the usual answer seems to be "once: when Isobel started flirting with Captain Turner."

12. If the world was suddenly thrust into a zombie apocalypse, which ship would make it out alive, 1 [Sam / Jamie] or 3 [Ace / Shou Yuing] ?

Why do I have the worrying suspicion that what would emerge would be Ace / Jamie?

13. Did 4 [Steven / Vicki] ever have to hide their relationship for any reason?

Considering that their relationship exists only in my head as the whim of a random generator, I consider this highly unlikely.

14. Is 5 [Zoë / Isobel] still together?

Only in shippers' headcanon, which is all that matters.

15.

There is no question 15.

16. If all five ships were put into a couples’ Hunger Games, which couple would win?

My thought would be Liz/Silver, on the grounds that while none of the other pairs lack for ingenuity and resourcefulness, Silver's the only one who can build a time machine out of Liz's jewellery. (And her knicker elastic. It was essential, but he won't explain why).

(The question originally read "couple's Hunger Games", but I have my standards).

17. Has anyone ever tried to sabotage 5 [Zoë/Isobel]’s ship?

Only by clobbering the two characters it comprises (see: Who Killed Kennedy, The Tip of the Mind, Companion Chronicles passim).

18. Which ship(s) would you defend to the death and beyond?

I think there are beliefs it would be right and proper to die for, in the appropriate circumstances. "Which fictional character should hook up with which other fictional character" doesn't qualify, in my book.

19. Have you ever spent hours a day going through 3 [Ace / Shou Yuing]’s tumblr page?

There is precisely one entry on tumblr with that tag. Just looking for Shou Yuing on her own finds a few more, but even at dialup speeds we'd be nowhere near hours-a-day territory.

20. If an evil witch descended from the sky and told you that you had to pick one of the five ships to break up forever, which ship would you sink?

Vicki / Steven. Easy.