Ask fan fiction writers/readers what “slow burn” is and you’ll get an idea about the kind of “romantic” drama going on on the small screen. For you noobs, slow burn means the process of getting attracted to someone over a period of time. It is one of the top reasons why viewers come back to a show, season after season. It also spawns some intense “ships”, which, in fanfiction, refers to relationships you root for and story suggestions that range from fluff to smut (see next page for the meanings). Here’s are some recent TV parings that have left us wanting more, and a few that have made us happy by hooking up...

Ship name: HILSON
Show: House MD
Stars: Gregory House and James Wilson

The pain medicine-addicted medical genius Dr House and the head of oncology Dr Wilson are a lot like Sherlock Homes and Dr Watson, and their banter gives this ship the wind in its sails. They too refer to their extremely “close” partnership often. Remember how when talking about Amber Volaki, House tells Wilson: “You like her personality. You like that she’s conniving. You like that she has no regard for consequences. You like that she can humiliate someone if it serves — Oh my God. You’re sleeping with me!” Then in the same episode, Wilson says: “House, you’re right. Why not? Why not date you? It’s brilliant. We’ve known each other for years. We’ve put up with all kinds of crap from each other. And we keep coming back. We’re a couple.” And when Wilson starts dating his ex-wife Sam in Season 6, House tries his best to break them up with his hilarious ways.

Ship name: CASKETT
Show: Castle
Stars: Kate Beckett and Richard Castle

They have been doing “the dance” from Season 2 of the series, when they first became friends. It has been one frustrating ride since. First we see Castle pursuing Beckett and she ignoring it. Then, just as Beckett gears up to confess her feelings to Castle, he revives his relationship with his ex-wife. When he is back pursuing Beckett, she gets into a serious relationship with Josh, the doctor. And when he finally blurts out that he loves her, she pretends not to have heard it. We almost ran out of patience when, finally at the end of Season 5, Beckett runs into Castle’s arms and they make love. We have invited ourselves to the wedding which is slated for Season 7!

Ship name: OLICITY
Show: Arrow
Stars: Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak

He’s playboy and rich heir by day, angsty vigilante of Starling City by night. She’s his executive assistant; actually a geeky chic computer whiz with a faulty brain-to-mouth filter. Oliver Queen’s chemistry with Felicity Smoak is off the charts. They are the cutest thing ever, except that they are not really a thing-thing. Felicity has been pulled to Oliver from the start, often exposing it with her awkward babbling, followed with even more awkward attempts at covering it up. At the start of Season 3, Oliver kisses Felicity and tells her not to “ask him to say he doesn’t love her” but becomes aloof again to protect her. We get a kiss and a date and then we are back to square one! No wonder the shippers have them married and bringing up cute kids.

Ship name: CAPTAIN SWAN
Show: Once Upon a Time
Stars: Captain Hook and Emma Swan

They smouldered the first time they met and Emma, a feisty bounty hunter from Storybrooke, ended up tying Captain ‘Killian Jones’ Hook to a tree. Their relationship has been fraught with sexual tension since, which sometimes took a violent turn, including a sword fight in Fairytale Land where Hook says: “When I jab you with my sword, you’ll feel it.” Ahem! Every time he called her “Swan” or “love”, we swooned. They finally went on a date, held hands and kissed dreamily! Here’s looking forward to some fireworks in Season 4.

Ship name: JISBON
Show: The Mentalist
Stars: Patrick Jane and Teresa Lisbon

Like Castle and Beckett, Jane and Lisbon kept us on tenterhooks for a good six seasons. He’s goofy, she’s no-nonsense. And everytime they are in the same frame, something happens. This slow burn has been worth the wait as Jane develops feelings for Lisbon and we finally get a hint that Lisbon might be interested too. Keep your fingers crossed for a very Bollywood-style proposal from Jane to Lisbon in Season 6!

Ship name: DESTIEL
Show: Supernatural
Stars: Dean Winchester and Castiel

Well, this is an honorary mention. Because this ship has been going strong despite no possibilities, ever since Castiel saved Dean from hell in Season 4. One of the most popular slash pairings on television (same-sex pairings), it has been fed by the show creators through apparently naive situations that act as double entendres. Whether it is Dean saying: “Get out of my ass, Castiel”, or Balthazar telling Dean: “Sorry, you have me confused with the other angel. You know, the one in the dirty trench coat who’s in love with you”. Will fan fiction find space in canon? We wish!

Ship name: ICHABIE
Show: Sleepy Hollow
Stars: Abbie Mills and Ichabod Crane

He has a wife trapped in an “in-between” world, but it hasn’t stopped fans from pairing the resurrected Ichabod Crane and his partner-in-arms in the modern world, Abbie Mills. He calls her Mills or Lieutenant, except in very emotional circumstances. She calls him Crane, again with the same exception. And when they are together the sparks fly, mostly in the form of sarcastic comments. Ichabod is very protective of Abbie and Abbie is the only one (apart from his wife) who can calm him down. Now we can’t wait to see where Ichabie is headed for in Season 2!

Ship name: STEREK
Show: Teen Wolf
Stars: Stiles Stilinski and Derek Hale

Stiles is single, so is Derek. The show has a very homerotic subcontext with a very open attitude towards sexuality. What you have as a result is crazy speculation on their simmering bromance. The scene where Stiles falls on top of Derek after both are paralysed with venom made the fans go berserk. What has further fanned the fans’ imagination is show boss Jeff Davis acknowledging such a possibility, admitting that Sterek would make for an interesting arc story-wise. Hmm!

Which TVship are you rooting for? Tell t2@abp.in