relationshipper
nounEtymology 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. First attested on alt.tv.x-files in January 1996, but it was seemingly already in use by then.
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Lifestyle Slang A person who supports a romantic or sexual relationship between fictional characters or real people.
- 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.1996, Paul Mitchell, The Duchovny Files: The Truth Is In Here, page 190:
- 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).2002, Tom Kessenich, EXaminations: An Unauthorized Look at Seasons 6-9 of The X-files, page 4:
1 more example
- 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.2012, Lily Rothman, “'I'd Very Still': Anthropology of a Lapsed Fan”, in Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion, page 134:
- Synonyms
- shipper
- Antonyms
- anti-shipper
- Related terms
- anti-relationshipper