relationshipper

English

Etymology

From relationship +‎ -er. Emerged in early online fandom of the television series The X-Files as a term for fans who supported the possibility of a Mulder/Scully romance.[1][2] First attested on alt.tv.x-files in January 1996,[3] but it was seemingly already in use by then.[4]

Noun

relationshipper (plural relationshippers)

  1. (fandom slang) A person who supports a romantic or sexual relationship between fictional characters or real people.
    • 1996, Paul Mitchell, The Duchovny Files: The Truth Is In Here, page 190:
      I don’t care what the relationshippers say, it’s just so OBVIOUS to try to get the two of them together and the X-Files has never been obvious.
    • 2002, Tom Kessenich, EXaminations: An Unauthorized Look at Seasons 6-9 of The X-files, page 4:
      There were the relationshippers whose focus was on Mulder and Scully’s relationship, or the MSR as it was called (with a possible emphasis on romance).
    • 2012, Lily Rothman, “'I'd Very Still': Anthropology of a Lapsed Fan”, in Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion, page 134:
      In media fan lingo, the idea of an OTP—the One True Pairing, a fan's absolute favorite fictional couple—can be tossed around rather casually. In terms of my history as a relationshipper, Willow and Oz will always be mine, but the real OTP in my fan identity is Buffy and me.

Synonyms

Antonyms

References
  1. Maggie Owens, "The Sweet Science of Shipping It", Fandom, 29 June 2008
  2. Alyse Wax, "How The X-Files helped shape modern fandom — including shipping", Syfy, 20 March 2018. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021.
  3. Lisa Graves (1996 January 6) “Re: Question on "Oubliette"/CLARIFICATION!”, in alt.tv.x-files‎ (Usenet)
  4. LisdXPhile (1996 January 7) “Her *name* is *Bambi*?”, in alt.tv.x-files‎ (Usenet): “Mulder's flirtation with Bambi is both a direct challenge--and an oblique concession--to the fans who call themselves "relationshippers" (those who are convinced that, regardless of official claims to the contrary, Mulder and Scully belong together romantically).”
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