For those of you cool enough not to know, slash is fan-fiction that looks at romantic and/or sexual pairings of same-sex characters (usually male). My friend Anna has been reading slash since she came to the United States at age eleven, and she credits it with teaching her how to speak English. She and I developed a little game where I would guess which characters in a particular fandom were usually paired by slash writers. Now, I bring the joy of that game to your home or office! I used her expertise and Google voting to estimate the popularity of various pairings, so slashers, correct me if I'm wrong, and the rest of you: enjoy guessing!
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Data/Geordi. Data may technically lack emotions, but he considers Geordi his "best friend"... and maybe more???
Picard/Riker. Gives "Make it so, number one!" a whole new meaning! Well, a marginally new meaning.
Picard/Q. They are, after all, the only two men ever to share a bed in the show.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Bashir/O'Brien. They started off hating each other. This gave way eventually to grudging respect, friendship, affection, and... could it be... love?
Bashir/Garak. They started off hating each other. This gave way eventually to grudging respect, friendship, affection, and... could it be... love?
Quark/Odo, aka Quodo. There\'s nothing sexier than a constable/convict relationship. Just ask Valjean and Javert!
Harry Potter
Harry/Ron. Best pals through thick and thin. And they practically went to the Yule Ball together in Book 4. Those Indian girls weren't fooling anybody.
Harry/Draco. Is their animosity hiding a secret lust?
Ron/Draco. Is their animosity hiding a secret lust?
Harry/Snape. Are Harry's frequent declarations that his intimidating potions master is greasy-haired and ugly protesting too much? Also, is their animosity hiding a secret lust?
Stargate: Atlantis
McKay/Sheppard aka McShep. Boys will be boys, and these two bickering best pals can get up to plenty of mischief together.
McKay/Beckett aka McBeck. They kissed one time!! Sure, there was a lady's consciousness in one of their heads, but still.
Sheppard/Beckett aka Sheppett. Sheppard doesn't listen to anyone's orders... except the doctor.
McKay/Zelenka aka McLenka. Geeks in love. What could be more natural?
Pirates of the Caribbean
Jack/Will. One's a grizzled, crazy pirate; one's a fresh-faced, dreamy, dashing-moustached son-of-a-pirate. Both appear to be going after Elizabeth, but could it be that they can only find true love on the high seas...... together?
Will/Norrington. Two noble suitors of Elizabeth who end up on opposite sides of the law--but who, deep down, have a lot in common, including (???) being gay (????) (!!!!)
Jack/Norrington. The classic story of insane outlaw and proper military gentleman: together at last!
Jack/Rum. After all, rum is the only entity that Jack canonically adores!
House M.D.
House/Wilson. House is always getting Wilson to buy him food and generally being a prick; why would Wilson put up with it except for routine sexual favors?
House/Foreman. House's second in command, Foreman seems to carry a secret admiration for the crotchety doctor. They wear the same shoes!
House/Chase. Because Chase is oh, so pretty.
Pride and Prejudice
Darcy/Bingley. Come on, they're always together. The cheerful Bingley seems like he would be an unlikely companion for the reserved Darcy, but they seem to truly love, respect, and enjoy each other. And Bingley's always apologizing for Darcy in public. It's very cute.
Darcy/Wickham. They were very much thrown together at one time, and now harbor each harbors a passionate dislike for the other. Have you ever wondered if that story about Georgiana might just be a ruse to cover up some other rift between the two men?
Darcy/Riker (TNG Crossover). "Will knew he would regret agreeing to join Deanna's Regency era Holodeck program, and sure enough, after a quarter-hour of watching the Counselor and Commander Data waltz and quadrille, he was fingering his cravat, itching to get out of this high-collared suit and slip back into his Federation-issue pajamas. Silently he raised a glass to the only other person who looked as uncomfortable as him, a dark brooding gentleman in the corner, who refused to meet his glance. Will grinned rakishly. This stranger was about to get a dose of good old-fashioned Federation-issue charm."
Full House
Danny/Joey. Best friends in college, and now they're raising three girls together! Considering that Joey isn't actually related to the family in any way, Danny's decision to invite Joey to help raise his kids can only be explained with a gay partnership.
Danny/Jesse. Danny loved his wife, but now that she's gone, only one person can help him move on... her charming, attractive brother.
Jesse/Joey. At first they got in each other's way, but as the years progressed, they collaborated more and more--first on raising the girls, and then on various creative projects--and then? That's right, ladies. On Love!