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jjporWell, if you've ever read any of my fanfic, as I think a lot of you on my flist probably have, you'll probably have some vague, unconfirmed inkling about what the answer to this one is going to be... ;)
Day Twenty-One: Your Doctor Who OTP
Or will you? I could suprise you totally and say Irongron/Bloodaxe, keeping up yesterday's Time Warrior theme. Or Glitz/Dibber! It certainly makes more sense to me than Glitz/Ace...
Funny thing, isn't it, fandom? At least, that part of it connected to fanfiction that many of us inhabit. Ships, that's the name of the game for a lot of folk. I used to think I wasn't really a shippy sort of writer, in that I tended to write about things other than shippiness most of the time, but who am I kidding, really? ;D It's the notion of One True Pairing, though, that's sort of problematical to me. I know other people made this observation when they did the meme, but it's very true.
Very, very, very few of the generally accepted pairings in Doctor Who actually exist outside of fanfic and personal canon. I mean, even more so for the old series. We can draw inferences - we can make educated guesses - we can even wildly speculate on the basis of limited "evidence". But at the end of the day, unless your "P" is one of the select ones conclusively proven to be "T" onscreen, then you can't really go claiming it's the OTP to the exclusion of everybody else's. I mean, you can, in your own personal fanfic (although be ready for critiques) and your heart of hearts, but once you start trying to impose it on other people, or act as if your fanon is the one true canon too (and I don't think there really is such a thing as one true canon, by now, with the snarl of continuity errors and retcons that have built up over the decades since 1963), well you're on thin ice, really. And you're probably harshing other people's enjoyment of the programme and the fandom too, so stop it! Just...don't! as Ten might advise you. ;)
Unless, of course you happen to espouse one of the pairings that have been confirmed on screen! But even then, it's not acceptable, to me anyway, to go belittling or sneering at other people's favoured pairings and telling them they're not true or not as true as your one, or whatever. Even if you it's one you find repulsive and/or crazy. I mean, why do it other than to cause trouble and hurt people's feelings? Really? I'm not talking about expressing your preferences, even strongly - that's okay, obviously, but you know, being dogmatic is almost never a good idea. Disagreeing on this kind of thing doesn't make people "bad fans" or bad people, whatever some would appear to think. And even if you think you're on safe ground, you might not be - I mean, Ian/Barbara and Ben/Polly both seem as plain as day to me, as good as confirmed by "canon", surely, but there are those who don't accept them (including William Russell, allegedly, in the former case!), and they were never actually explicitly stated to be the case, were they?
But enough of all that preachy semonising anyway. I'm just trying to make it clear that while I'm probably guilty of being a bit naughty on this point myself in the past, your OTP is not everybody else's OTP, and by picking an answer to this question, and by not really paying all that much attention to alternative pairings (or even denying them, in a fictional context) in fanfic, I'm not denying other people's right to like alternative pairings or claiming this is the best supported one by the onscreen evidence and all the others are fake, so you know, I'd appreciate supporters of "ships" I'm not particularly into extending me the same courtesy. Live and let live and all that. And I think that applies to all differences of opinion in fandom, really - it's only for fun at the end of the day. :)
Anyway, sorry if that sounded like a rant - it's a subject I've been sort of thinking about a lot this past year. And it was all just to keep you reading anyway before I brought on the all-too-obvious reveal. I won't go claiming this is the OTP, any maybe not even my OTP, as I like to maintain a certain regard for various TPs, really, but it's my favourite. It seems right to me, and I keep writing about it, so:
:D Ahh - those crazy star-crossed kids! :D
....as for Torchwood... Well, it's a pairing-rich environment, isn't it? But there can be only one OTP there! No, not Jack/Ianto, although it is canon. And no, not Ianto/Cyberwoman, Gwen/Rhys, Gwen/Owen, Owen/Tosh or even the much played-with Gwen/Jack. And not even Capt John Hart/PC Andy, although now that I think on that one...
No, no, no - the only true Torchwood OTP has got to be the second-oldest one of them all (in chronological time, not forgetting Emily/Alice from the 1890s). Gerald/Harriet, obviously! Those crazy, mixed up, WW1-era kids... And if you're not immediately recalling Gerald and Harriet, you missed the best two minutes of Torchwood S2... No, really. ;D I'm still raving about it three years later!
(Kidding, btw - what I say above about Who is true of TW too, of course! Slightly disappointed that I couldn't find any Gerald/Harriet vids anywhere, although their entire screentime is probably shorter than most fanvids. so... XD)
The Rest of the Days:
Day 01 - Your Favorite Quote
Day 02 – Your Favorite Classic Series Episode
Day 03 – Your Favorite New Series Episode
Day 04 – Your Favorite Doctor
Day 05 – Your Favorite Companion
Day 06 – Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Day 07 – Your Favorite Piece of Music
Day 08 – A Who-Related Photo That Makes You Happy
Day 09 – A Who-Related Photo That Makes You Angry/Sad
Day 10 – A Who-Related Photo That You Took
Day 11 – Your Favorite Season (Classic or New)
Day 12 – Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Day 13 – Your Favorite Villain
Day 14 – The Villain Who Scared You the Most
Day 15 – Favorite Who-Related Tumblr
Day 16 – Your Favorite Who-Related FanFic
Day 17 – A Piece of Who-Related FanArt
Day 18 – Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Day 19 – The Scene That Made You Cry the Most
Day 20 – The Character Who Is Most Like You
Day 21 – Your Doctor Who OTP
Day 22 – A Who-Related Fan-Site
Day 23 – A Who-Related YouTube Video
Day 24 – Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Day 25 – Favorite Who Actor
Day 26 – Favorite Who Actress
Day 27 – An Episode You Wish Hadn’t Been Made
Day 28 – An Episode Idea You Created Yourself
Day 29 – Who You Think Should Be the Next Doctor
Day 30 – Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Day Twenty-One: Your Doctor Who OTP
Or will you? I could suprise you totally and say Irongron/Bloodaxe, keeping up yesterday's Time Warrior theme. Or Glitz/Dibber! It certainly makes more sense to me than Glitz/Ace...
Funny thing, isn't it, fandom? At least, that part of it connected to fanfiction that many of us inhabit. Ships, that's the name of the game for a lot of folk. I used to think I wasn't really a shippy sort of writer, in that I tended to write about things other than shippiness most of the time, but who am I kidding, really? ;D It's the notion of One True Pairing, though, that's sort of problematical to me. I know other people made this observation when they did the meme, but it's very true.
Very, very, very few of the generally accepted pairings in Doctor Who actually exist outside of fanfic and personal canon. I mean, even more so for the old series. We can draw inferences - we can make educated guesses - we can even wildly speculate on the basis of limited "evidence". But at the end of the day, unless your "P" is one of the select ones conclusively proven to be "T" onscreen, then you can't really go claiming it's the OTP to the exclusion of everybody else's. I mean, you can, in your own personal fanfic (although be ready for critiques) and your heart of hearts, but once you start trying to impose it on other people, or act as if your fanon is the one true canon too (and I don't think there really is such a thing as one true canon, by now, with the snarl of continuity errors and retcons that have built up over the decades since 1963), well you're on thin ice, really. And you're probably harshing other people's enjoyment of the programme and the fandom too, so stop it! Just...don't! as Ten might advise you. ;)
Unless, of course you happen to espouse one of the pairings that have been confirmed on screen! But even then, it's not acceptable, to me anyway, to go belittling or sneering at other people's favoured pairings and telling them they're not true or not as true as your one, or whatever. Even if you it's one you find repulsive and/or crazy. I mean, why do it other than to cause trouble and hurt people's feelings? Really? I'm not talking about expressing your preferences, even strongly - that's okay, obviously, but you know, being dogmatic is almost never a good idea. Disagreeing on this kind of thing doesn't make people "bad fans" or bad people, whatever some would appear to think. And even if you think you're on safe ground, you might not be - I mean, Ian/Barbara and Ben/Polly both seem as plain as day to me, as good as confirmed by "canon", surely, but there are those who don't accept them (including William Russell, allegedly, in the former case!), and they were never actually explicitly stated to be the case, were they?
But enough of all that preachy semonising anyway. I'm just trying to make it clear that while I'm probably guilty of being a bit naughty on this point myself in the past, your OTP is not everybody else's OTP, and by picking an answer to this question, and by not really paying all that much attention to alternative pairings (or even denying them, in a fictional context) in fanfic, I'm not denying other people's right to like alternative pairings or claiming this is the best supported one by the onscreen evidence and all the others are fake, so you know, I'd appreciate supporters of "ships" I'm not particularly into extending me the same courtesy. Live and let live and all that. And I think that applies to all differences of opinion in fandom, really - it's only for fun at the end of the day. :)
Anyway, sorry if that sounded like a rant - it's a subject I've been sort of thinking about a lot this past year. And it was all just to keep you reading anyway before I brought on the all-too-obvious reveal. I won't go claiming this is the OTP, any maybe not even my OTP, as I like to maintain a certain regard for various TPs, really, but it's my favourite. It seems right to me, and I keep writing about it, so:
:D Ahh - those crazy star-crossed kids! :D
....as for Torchwood... Well, it's a pairing-rich environment, isn't it? But there can be only one OTP there! No, not Jack/Ianto, although it is canon. And no, not Ianto/Cyberwoman, Gwen/Rhys, Gwen/Owen, Owen/Tosh or even the much played-with Gwen/Jack. And not even Capt John Hart/PC Andy, although now that I think on that one...
No, no, no - the only true Torchwood OTP has got to be the second-oldest one of them all (in chronological time, not forgetting Emily/Alice from the 1890s). Gerald/Harriet, obviously! Those crazy, mixed up, WW1-era kids... And if you're not immediately recalling Gerald and Harriet, you missed the best two minutes of Torchwood S2... No, really. ;D I'm still raving about it three years later!
(Kidding, btw - what I say above about Who is true of TW too, of course! Slightly disappointed that I couldn't find any Gerald/Harriet vids anywhere, although their entire screentime is probably shorter than most fanvids. so... XD)
The Rest of the Days:
Day 02 – Your Favorite Classic Series Episode
Day 08 – A Who-Related Photo That Makes You Happy
Day 11 – Your Favorite Season (Classic or New)
Day 12 – Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Day 13 – Your Favorite Villain
Day 15 – Favorite Who-Related Tumblr
Day 17 – A Piece of Who-Related FanArt
Day 21 – Your Doctor Who OTP
Day 22 – A Who-Related Fan-Site
Day 23 – A Who-Related YouTube Video
Day 24 – Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Day 25 – Favorite Who Actor
Day 26 – Favorite Who Actress
Day 27 – An Episode You Wish Hadn’t Been Made
Day 28 – An Episode Idea You Created Yourself
Day 29 – Who You Think Should Be the Next Doctor
Day 30 – Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
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no subject
Date: 2011-03-24 01:12 am (UTC)Ahh, those crazy star-crossed kids, indeed.<3
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Date: 2011-03-24 03:30 am (UTC)I can definitely go with the Doctor/Romana; at least they're the same species. But Doctor/TARDIS works, too...
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Date: 2011-03-24 06:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-24 10:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-25 06:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-26 12:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-24 09:23 am (UTC)The TARDIS is so his wife!:D
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Date: 2011-03-24 10:16 pm (UTC)And yes, just look at 'em! ;D
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Date: 2011-03-24 06:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-24 10:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-25 06:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-26 12:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-25 02:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-25 06:21 am (UTC)It's by
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Date: 2011-03-26 12:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-24 10:48 am (UTC)Great rant. I very much enjoyed reading it, especially the point on Ian/Barbara (who I suppose are canon after that SJA episode, but that still doesn't give led to get mad at anyone who doesn't ship it).
no subject
Date: 2011-03-24 10:45 pm (UTC)Thanks. And yes, completely agree. As much as you or I may have got a warm, cosy sort of feeling at the idea of old married couple Ian and Barbara, somebody else somewhere was having their conception of the characters destroyed. Or something like that. Not that I expect anything else from the Master of Lies aka Rusty! XD