My name is Kathleen and I’m the author of The Fangirl Life: A Guide to All the Feels and How to Deal! My book hits stores this week, and I wanted to give FYA readers a taste of the text and a test of your feels with your very own shipper quiz!
If you’re a fangirl, shipping probably comes as naturally to you as breathing. You’re at home out on the open air, the salty spray blowing across your face as you lean over the bow of your vessel. But what kind of ship is your passage across the great Ocean of Creys? Write down your answers to these ten questions, and follow the key at the bottom to find out what kind of ship you command! Ready?
1. What do you look for in a ship?
a. A power couple I can cry about.
b. A juicy backstory.
c. A popular fandom I can join.
d. Friction and conflict.
2. What needs to happen in the first episode of a TV show for you to ship a couple?
a. I need them to work together to solve a crisis. YASS SLAY.
b. I need an angsty reveal that they have history. MY FEELINGS.
c. I need them to call each other dumb nicknames. THE WORST.
d. I need them to shout at each other. HOT.
3. Choose one of the following ships:
a. Ben and Leslie from Parks and Recreation
b. Jane and Rafael from Jane the Virgin
c. Sherlock and John from Sherlock
d. Ron and Hermione from Harry Potter
4. What do you text your fangirl friend to convince her to ship your OTP?
a. “BUT LOOK how many seasons there are!”
b. “I WILL BRING YOU DOWN WITH ME.”
c. “These are clearly idiots in love.”
d. “Aasldfkjl;kfweifj”
5. What’s your Hogwarts house?
a. Ravenclaw
b. Gryffindor
c. Hufflepuff
d. Slytherin
6. How do you feel about love triangles?
a. I like occasional jealousy, especially if it happens at work or school.
b. I LOVE THEM. Bring on the angst.
c. I like them for their comedic effect.
d. ABSOLUTELY NO THANK YOU.
7. What kind of fic do you like best?
a. Fluff! I want daily routines and lots of them.
b. Flashback fic! Especially high school AUs.
c. Slash. If the show won’t give it to me, I’ll find it myself!
d. Angst, please and thank you.
8. Who has the best chemistry?
a. Jane and Maura from Rizzoli & Isles
b. Olivia and Fitz from Scandal
c. Clarke and Lexa from The 100
d. Mulder and Scully from The X-Files
9. What’s your favorite development in a fictional relationship?
a. Slow but subtle changes in their behavior around one another.
b. When one declares they’ve been in love with the other all along.
c. I don’t need them to be canon. Give me subtext.
d. When they shout and then have a ragey make out.
10. Pick a YA ship.
a. Katniss and Peeta from The Hunger Games
b. Noah and Brian from I’ll Give You the Sun
c. Dill and Lydia from The Serpent King
d. Simon and Baz from Carry On
ANSWER KEY:
If you chose mostly As, you are the captain of:
The S. S. Responsibilities – Some of the best ships blossom when two people work together but can’t be together because of responsibilities. It’s your classic co-worker pairing, where a twosome is too busy saving the universe, curing a patient, or catching a criminal to hear us shouting, “Now kiss!” When the feelings are repressed and not acknowledged, there’s a heap of subtext you can use for fan fiction until the plot gets rolling and office supplies start flying off of desks.
If you chose mostly Bs, you’ve booked passage on:
The Nostalgia Cruise Liner – They’ve got history! You’ve got feels. Some of the most angsty but most satisfying ships are the ones where a couple had a fling in the past or missed their chance. And now, there’s a chance that spark might reignite. This ship is great for writing flashback fic, but beware the dreaded love triangle that may plague the pairing on screen on in a book!
If you chose mostly Cs, you serve on:
The Former Bros Battleship – Totes bros! Or wait, maybe not? We all have those ships that start as bromance and evolve into something much, much more. Fangirls who serve on this vessel are quite hardy, because they have a lot of practice defending their ship to the naysayers. THEY’RE TOTALLY IN LOVE? CAN’T YOU SEE IT?
If you chose mostly Ds, you’re steering:
The Opposites Outrigger – Opposites are cliché, but nothing is better than an intellectual shouting match between two strong characters that results in make outs! Heroes and villains. Type As and Type Bs. Princesses and scoundrels. Whatever repels will attract when it comes to fic. Is it hot in here? Somebody grab the fire extinguisher.
If you like this quiz and would like to read more about the fangirl personality, check out The Fangirl Life, in stores now!
About the Contributor:
Kathleen is a therapist living in DC. When she’s not crying about middle-aged women on television, she helps fangirls with their problems. Despite her passion for dystopian novels, she remains utterly unprepared for the apocalypse.
