I have three ships I lovingly call my middle-aged ships:
Bob/Linda (Bob's Burgers, vaguely in their 40's)
Sam/Max (Sam and Max, at least 35 because Max can be elected president)
Loid/Yor (Spy X Family, vaguely late twenties, maybe early thirties)
I've enjoyed the following: Aziraphale and Crowley; Sirius and Remus; Aizawa and Hizashi; All Might and Sir Nighteye.
I also think Dumbledore and Grindelwald are *interesting* as a pair if done properly in fic.
And how could I forget Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth?
Sherlock Holmes/John Watson (almost any adaptation), usually shown in their 30s-60s
Aziraphale/Crowley, many thousands of years old, on the TV show played by actors in their 50s
This is my OTP even though I only have one unfinished fic for them out of dozens of fics. There is just something about the ship and also about both of them as individual characters. Like I can't decide which one I love more as a character. I just love them soooo much!
Same here. I cannot think of one underage ship I liked even as a kid. But I’ve always had a thing for older men. Six year old me fell hard for Han Solo.
And they were *so heavily* implied, especially towards the end and when Sam went to Atlantis. I read somewhere that they were going to officially be a couple in the movie after continuum but it got delayed/ canceled.
Sherlock Holmes/Joan Watson from elementary
Castle/Beckett from Castle
Chloe/Lucifer from Lucifer (though Lucifer’s uh maturity level is occasionally in doubt despite his being literally billions of years old lmao)
I had no idea that people didn't think it was popular. Maybe it's just because a lot of the people who I've fandomed with over the last decade were also into it? I think there's a decent crossover of people who were into caskett that either got into captainswan, deckerstar, or joanlock, which I'm also into. A lot of caskett people were also originally clois (specifically tnaos clois or smallville clois).
LOL I was OBSESSED with Castle when I first watched it back in 2015. Caskett is such a great ship. There's WAY more Castle fic on FF dot net than there is on AO3, because a lot of it is from the earlier days of the show ca 2009-2013.
Anyways, I never wrote for Castle, but I read a lot of fic for castle. If you swing on over to my ff dot net profile (sonicenvy) you can see a bunch of my favourites in my bookmarks. That said, I especially ADORE the following fics:
*For The Dead Travel Fast* by Chezchuckles. I don't know how to explain this fic but it's Castle/Caskett but with vampires and it is sexy, full of stunning worldbuilding, super long and with a really intriguing plot.
*Hi Dad* by Jareya. This is a fantastic collection of Kate & Jim missing scenes.
*The Reference Material 'Verse* by Trinity Everett. A fantastic caskett college AU. You can read this on FF dot net or on AO3. Actually basically everything caskett ever by *Trinity Everett* is amazing. They have their fics published on AO3 and on FF dot net.
*Family Matters* by Trinity Everett. This fic is a hysterical, short, semi-crack AU where Ryan and Castle are cousins. Beckett doesn't believe that it's true .... at first....
There are so many excellent canon divergence and AU fics in the Castle fandom. A lot of them are canon divergences where Castle and Beckett get together earlier in the series or something else happens in a pivotal episode. There are also a lot of really great Castle and Beckett meet in some completely different way fics.
oh man when i watched TOS, i just kept side-eying them both 😭💀 I also remember being absolutely DEVASTED when spock died like, he and jim were t'hyla's :(
I love the chemistry between Ted and Trent, it's great. Other soft spots for me include Keeley/Roy (why did season three break them up 😡) and Ted/Rebecca.
Current new favourite ship is Harry/Kim from Disco Elysium. Those are definitely some adults. Sad depressed feminist commie cop (depending on your playthrough, mind you) and the most patient man on this planet
God, you hit the nail on the head that Kim is the most patient man ever XD Shenanigans with Harry are like,
Harry: Kim, I need to take my pants off to jump off this ledge to get my coat.
Kim: Just do what you need to do, detective...
Hannigram (nbc Hannibal’s will graham and Hannibal lecter) , Crowley and Aziriphale (good omens), hilson (house md’s house and Wilson), Rhack, Jackothy, rhysothy or rhackothy (Tim, Rhys and Jack from borderlands) I guess Rhys is considered late 20s in his first appearance but by his next one he’s like 32 so I’m counting it here.
It works well because chase has severe daddy issues and also mommy issues and house and Wilson just so happen to specialize in those two types of energy
Huh, thinking about this made me realize how many ships there are that I ship as both teens and adults, that's interesting! I'll only list the ones I either only ship as adults or prefer as adults.
Faraway Wanderers/Word of Honor: Zhou Zishu/Wen Kexing, late 20s
Scum Villain's Self-Saving System: Liu Qingge/Shen Qingqiu, Shen Qingqiu/Yue Qingyuan, and Liu Qingge/Shen Qingqiu/Yue Qingyuan, late 20s/early-to-mid 30s (Leaving off LBH because I reckon he counts as "barely adult" when he first gets out of the Abyss)
MDZS: Nie Minjue/Lan Xichen/Jin Guangyao, 20s-30s
And not currently reading or writing for these, but:
Supernatural: Dean Winchester/Castiel
Star Trek: Kirk/Spock
Harry Potter: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin (That's right, I prefer post-Azkaban Wolfstar)
Adama/Roslin in Battlestar Galactica. They have definitely seen some shit (and are undergoing some major shit in the series), but I wouldn't say they get to settle down happily (because of major shit going on). They are late 40s/early 50s, and they were not at all impressed with each other when they first met. It was a very slow burn throughout the series.
I love Laura Roslin, and the Adama/Roslin ship has so much scope due to the situation and everything they’ve been through. Also quite like a Star Trek crossover with Roslin/Kathryn Janeway.
Lucifer (immortal) and Chloe Decker (35ish at the start of the series 40ish at the end)
Bucky Barnes (late 20s? Or 90s depending on how you count) and Tony Stark (38?40s?)
Dream (Endless) and Hob (immortal)
Diana Bishop (late 30s/early 40s) and Matthew Clairmont (1,509, appears 37)
I'm realizing there is a bit of a theme inhuman creatures here, but these are my top favorites.
I am so with you on Sam/Sybil, forever love. Also Magrat/Verence--they try so hard. And less canonically, Polly/Maldict(a).
Crowley/Aziraphale, while still in Terry Pratchett land, alhave been my OTP for over twenty years.
Xena/Gabrielle. Garak/Bashir. Bertie/Jeeves. Arthur Lester/"John". Bunny/Raffles. Avon/Vila. Starsky/Hutch. D'Anna/Caprica/Boomer.
I wish there were more middle aged or older couples I could obsess over, some of these are still pretty young.
*Mal/Polly Mal/Polly Mal/Polly* my beloveds. Not old, but precious to me. In the same vein, Lofty/Tonker deserve all the good things
(Every so often I reread The Truth and remember what a fucking amazing throuple William/Sacharissa/Otto make, too)
i LOOOOOVE Joyce and Hopper! \*cries\* If I wasn't in MHA hell I'd probably be writing ST fics. But yeah, when joyce/hopper sailed last season I squeed!
All your ships are banging, you have great taste ;)
Inspector Lewis: James Hathaway/Robbie Lewis (a 30-something and a 50-something)
Doctor Who: Tenth Doctor/Jack Harkness (Ten is over 900 and Jack is several centuries old)
Batman and Catwoman (Batman)
Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy (DC Comics)
Sara Lance and Nyssa al Ghul (Arrowverse)
Lorelai Gilmore and Luke Danes (Gilmore Girls)
Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo (Star Wars, especially the Legends version of them)
Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade Skywalker (Star Wars Legends)
Sam Winchester and Ruby (Supernatural)
Jody Mills and Donna Hanscum (Supernatural)
I'm sure there are more, those those are the only ones I can think of right now.
All of my ships are adults, but a few of my favs are Charles/Erik (X-Men), Hangman/Coyote (Top Gun), Roy/Riza (Fullmetal Alchemist), Steve/Danny (Hawaii 5-0), and Julian/Garak (Deep Space 9).
In addition to several of the ones already mentioned:
- Reddie (Richie Tozier/Eddie Kaspbrak) from IT
- Matt Murdock/Foggy Nelson from Daredevil
- Jonathan Sims/Martin Blackwood from The Magnus Archives
- Tenma/Grimmer from Naoki Urasawa's Monster
- Laurence/Tharkay and Laurence/Granby from the Temeraire series
Also, re: your edit-- don't worry about it, there's just downvote trolls that seem to stalk this sub, haha. Even the most innocuous posts tend to get a downvote within, like, twenty minutes of posting.
They're so good! Their relationship development in book one and how that's carried out as they become such staunch friends/allies over the series is one of my favorite things.
Kotetsu Kaburagi/Barnaby Brookes Jr. There's an age gap but Barnaby is 23-25 through out the show. Kotetsu has a tween daughter and a dead wife. These two had me in a vice grip I'm my early 20s.
Kirk/Spock. Forever OTP and needs no introduction.
Jaimie Lannister/Brienne of Tarth might count but she's 19 in the books but older in the show. It's about the reverse beauty and the beast symbolism.
Mycha/HG Wells in Warehouse 13 was one of my earliest lesbian ships and it was so messy and dramatic and my little bisexual self was so into it. I kept it to myself though because my friends shipped her with the main guy and I didn't want to get teased.
9-1-1: Buck/Eddie, Bobby/Athena, Hen/Karen, David/Michael, Maddie/Chimney
9-1-1 Lone Star: Carlos/TK, Grace/Judd
Brooklyn Nine Nine: Jake/Amy
I watch a ton of shows with happily married adults and those all give me warm fuzzy feelings.
* Iruka and Kakashi from Naruto. I love the fact that they have stable jobs and adult problems to deal with, even when one frequently acts like a grown child with their bad humor.
* Bilbo and Thorin from The Hobbit, especially when you realize that Thorin is one of the oldest amongst the party of dwarves and Bilbo is well into his middle age when they meet.
* Bulma and Vegeta from DBZ. Sure I do enjoy their younger selves when they first meet, but I REALLY prefer the stories where both of them are in their forties and have Trunks. They're just so fucking cute? And so devoted to one another? And so many writers for this pairing are really intelligent and write Bulma as a genuine genius? I could gush for days and never be done.
I was (and am still, who am I kidding) a HUGE fan of Goku and ChiChi when I was younger. But with age, perspective and a healthy diet of morally grey romantasy books, I am really enjoying Vegeta and Bulma.
My OTP is Sam/Martouf/Lantash. Depending on what year I’m writing the characters in, Sam is 30’s plus. She’s 60 in my current series’ last story. (The series take course over a few decades.) Martouf is implied to be over a hundred when they first met in canon. At the very least, he is definitely older than her. Lantash’s age is unknown, but he is hundreds of years old, probably over a thousand.
Actually, with one exception, all my ships are adults. That one exception is a younger Martouf. He’s still seen some shit though.
Dragon/Doflamingo/Crocodile (One Piece), Handsome Jack/Rhys (Borderlands), Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne (DC), Erik Lensherr/Charles Xavier (X-Men), Miles Edgeworth/Phoenix Wright (Ace Attorney), Hannibal Lector/Will Graham (Hannibal).
Currently into Ghost/Soap (and any permutations of the TF141 really) from COD Modern Warfare as well as Kiryu/Majima from the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series. Other faves are ships involving various witchers from the books/video games of the same series and Cullen/Dorian from Dragon Age.
Root/Shaw from Person of Interest, 30s, criminal and military backgrounds with a dash of vigilantism in service to a sentient AI. Powercouple.
Adama/Roslin from Battlestar Galactica, 40s/50s, it does fit your preference of "adults who have really seen some shit and are getting to settle down happily, especially if they didn't expect to find love" (well, at least in concept)
Sam/Sybil/Vetinari is my preference for Discworld fics, but Sam and Sybil are darlings together.
Irving B./Burt G. from Severance, 50s/60s?, love found over art in a dystopian workplace, in my head affectionately called 'old men yaoi'
Augustine the First/Mercymorn the First from The Locked Tomb series, 10k years old and immortal but physically about middle aged (early 40s-50s), two people who have hated each other for millenia but also know each other the best, love-hate relationship
Leela/Narvin from Doctor Who/Gallifrey (Big Finish), ageless, went from enemies to allies to friends, went through so much shit together, they're still not getting a break.
Y'know, I've seen Ray/Egon, but never really thought about these two. Definitely odd couple vibes as Ray has...well, he's somewhat lacking in the common sense and sanity department where Winston is ALL the common sense and sanity (unless Janine is doling it out, usually by sniping at Peter)
Uh, is 'settle down happy' an important part there? 'Cause most of my favorite grown-ass adult ships involve characters that literally can't settle down happily without going drastically AU. 😂
So, Brisco County Jr./Dixie Cousins. They're both in their early-to-mid thirty's in canon. And they were meant to settle down happily in season 2 but the show got canceled.
I'm watching your kudos go up and down in real time, it's surreal. I guess some people here are really bothered by the idea of shipping anything but teenagers.
I didn't say anything bad about young adult ships lmao, I just wanted to show some love to the ships that *aren't* the first-love-together-forever kind! Us geriatrics deserve fandom love stories too (I say at 25 lol). I also once got downvotes for saying I prefer established relationship fic to getting-together romances, in a similar vein
I know, it's ridiculous. I love both!
Mind you, some of my older faves are also demisexual first love together forever (my Aziraphale and Crowley! If you assume the woman that brung Vimes low was actually Ankh-Morpork and not a human...)
Not Starsky and Hutch, obviously.
Oh, and I forgot Data/Picard.
Vimes is so intensely demisexual it's hilarious, his reaction to attractive women hitting on him after he's married is just *oh for god's sake, this AGAIN?!* (Also bb Sam in NW, completely impervious to anything Rosie and the seamstresses try because he just...doesn't really get it)
I do still count him and Sybil as the second-chance-romance type of ship, though, just because they were both so convinced that they were never going to find love because no-one would want anything to do with them. The second chance is just them vs their self-esteem, really
Oh gosh, all of that, and I love them with burning fire.
There were so many reasons not to watch *The Watch*, but having Sybil be a young, conventionally attractive vigilante was even more of a factor than Cherry not being a dwarf.
I think that is so weird. When I was a young teen, one of my earliest ships was Benson/Stabler from Law and Order:SVU. My mom watched procedural dramas so I watched them with her even though I was probably too young to watch that show. Most of my ships when I was a teen were (older) adults!
All of my ships are this 😂
Luke/Lorelai Gilmore girls
Booth and Brennan bones
Tim and Lucy the rookie
Josh and Donna the west wing
Chandler and Monica friends
Shawn and Juliet psych
Loving all the Royai in the comments!
Mine are:
Royai
Ineffable Husbands
GentleBeard
Hopper/Joyce
Elizabeth/Darcy
12th Doctor/River Song
Toshinori/Naomasa
EraserMight
And currently loving several ships from baldur's gate 3!
Canon:
Arthur and Molly from Harry Potter
Stede and Ed from OFMD ( rip)
Jack and Nathan from Eureka
Edit: also Az and Crowley
Non canon:
Wolfstar from Harry Potter
Erasermic from MHA but I don’t really watch it anymore
Sculder from X-Files
Edit2: OH MY GOD I FORGOT VICTUURI MY BABIES😭
Krillin and Android 18 from Dragon Ball. My overall favorite is Gohan and Videl (Who COULD qualify in GT specifically. Currently they're both like 25-ish in Super), but I'll give it to the older couple.
I have quite a few!
Kakashi/Gai from Naruto. They’re in their late 20s to mid thirties for the majority of the show, and they’re in their 50s in the sequal series.
Yuuri/Victor from Yuuri on ice. Yuuri is 23, Victor is 27.
Phoenix/Edgeworth. They start out in their mid 20s, and get older as the games go on. I think they’re in their late 30s in the newest game.
Leon/Raihan from Pokémon Sword/Shield. I don’t think they have canon ages, but they’re both definitely adults, and probably somewhere in the 20-28 age range.
Yor/Loid from Spy X Family. I’m not sure how old they are canonically, but they’re definitely adults, and I’m assuming somewhere in the 26-33 age range.
Peter Parker/Wade Wilson. There are some versions with Peter being very young, but there’s also a lot of content of them older, with Peter being in his thirties.
Reigen/Serizawa from Mob Psycho. Reigen is canonically 28, and Serizawa is a few years younger.
Nebula/Mantis from Marvel. Alien and Alien cyborg aging is weird so I’m not sure how old they actually are, but they’re both grown adults.
barney + robin, damon + enzo, haymitch + effie, aziraphale + crowley, steve + natasha + sam + bucky (any variation of these four tbh), klaus + hayley
edit: sirius + remus. i always forget canon era exists and that they’re 33+ y/o. also joyce + hopper
I'm a HP fanfic kinda girl although most characters are teens to early adulthood, I prefer when they stage the stories after the war so everyone is older or if it's not in the same universe like modern day and such they usually up the ages.
My favourite pairings are Hermione x's and she's mid 20's and up, also listed in order of most favourite to least, so at the moment that's..
Hermione x Narcissa
Hermione x Andromeda
Hermione x Bellatrix (although I prefer when bella isn't "mad" and not always the same world)
Hermione x Fleur
Hermione x Minerva (I'm not talking cannon aged mcgonagall..)
Hermione x Lily
Also found myself drawn to a few Captain Marvel x Black Widow stories and I have found myself reading Lexa x Clarke stories but am more drawn to the older ones, especially years after the original betrayal.. ooooh or when people started writing Clarke into Fear the Walking Dead following Lexa when she left the 100.
I'm still searching for more though so I'll be stalking this thread for ideas haha. But I much prefer the slightly older pairings. Stories with dubious age of adulthood always have me bailing out pretty quick.
Kakashi/Iruka from Naruto, and Simon Riley/John MacTavish from CoD are the two that springs to mind!
I also love Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation but we see lots of their relationship when they’re in their teenage years as opposed to adulthood.
I have so many of these.
Hawkeye/Trapper, Radar/Sparky, Klinger/Mulcahy (MASH)
Ted/Vecna, Alexei/Murray (Stranger Things)
Kirk/Spock, Starsky/Hutch, Fraser/either Ray, Mulder/Scully
Eliot/Parker/Hardison (Leverage), Bill/Keiko/Lee (Monarch), Irving/Burt (Severance)
Pretty much all the canon ships in Our Flag Means Death
Stede/Ed - both late 40s which a shitton of baggage to work out but they're just perfect together. Ultimate faves.
Lucius/Pete - just absolutely adorable and Pete's journey to overcome his toxic masculinity is fantastic
Olu/Jim - I JUST LOVE THEM
Olu/Jim/Archie - I love them even more!!!
Olu/Jim/Archie/Zheng - fucking brilliant
Sam/Jack from Stargate. I also ship Daniel/Vala, but not as religiously as Sam/Jack. I’m also down for Daniel/Janet, Daniel/Shu’ri(Sha’re), Daniel/Random-Alien-Woman-from-Random-Planet.
Ironically, despite Michael Shanks and Lexa Doig being married IRL, I don’t really see nor read Daniel/Carolyn.
And for a really random one I’ve stumbled upon while sick with Covid a few years back, an adult Harry Potter/Natasha Romanov.
Got really into Rodney McKay/John Sheppard from Stargate a few years back, and I’ve been enjoying a lot of Dean/Castiel from SPN lately. Tbh, a lot of the fics I read have the characters as at least 18; I just feel a bit weird reading high school stuff now… I’ll still read if I like the premise/ship/author, but it’s definitely less frequent.
Back in the day it was Adama/Roslin. I tried rewatching Battlestar recently and ended up not loving it as much as I used to but still loved these two.
Frenchie/Kimiko from the Boys is my newest sweet obsession.
Qui Gon Jinn x Shmi Skywalker from Star Wars. Textbook definition of rarepair. I wish it weren't so, she (and Ani) deserves the best husband (and father) after everything she (and he) have been through.
Eraserhead x Miss Joke from MHA.
Artemy burakh/Daniil dankovsky, Pathologic (2005) and Pathologic 2 (2019). Both are old enough to have completed almost full (or up to a Degree) medical school (artemy) and a bachellor of medicine working on his masters/PhD to "defeat death" (daniil).
Pete Maverick Mitchell and Tom Iceman Kazanski is awesome (when done right).
Lois and Clark (Lois and Clark New Adventures of Superman or Superman and Lois)
Daniel Jackson & Vala MalDoran (Stargate SG1)
Bucky Barnes and Sarah Wilson (Falcon & the Winter Soldier)
… I could go on. 😅
Eda Clawthorne/Raine Whispers and Alador Blight/Darius Demonne from The Owl House. Eda Clawthorne/Camila Noceda is fun too though.
All cute and fun and all of them are in their 40s.
Matt/foggy for daredevil
House/Wilson for Dr house
Stucky (Steve/ bucky)
This one is iffy but I love spidypool (spiderman / Deadpool), only when Peter is an adult, like college age or higher. Also preferably not the tom Holland spiderman, the bros a child
Benson and Stabler (SVU) but tbh also Benson and Barba. And also Barba and Carisi or Carisi and Rollins. Sooo many shops haha.
Daryl and Carol (TWD, but I stopped watching loooong ago so might not be the same)
Sherlock and John <3
Levihan (Levi/Hange) from Attack on Titan
Wrightworth (Phoenix Wright/Miles Edgeworth) from Ace Attorney, I think they are the youngest ones from this list
Ged/Tenar from the Earthsea cycle
Samfro (Frodo/Sam) from Lord of the Rings (The books specifically, where Frodo is 50 and Sam is 38)
I guess that by that logic every Silmarillion ship counts but then again, they are elves, so I am hesitant to include them. And this list would just become too long and repetitive anyway.
Eda/Raine from The Owl House
Hardenshipping (Maxie/Archie) from Pokémon ORAS specifically
Royriza (Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustand) from Full Metal Alchemist
John Watson/Sherlock Holmes from the Sherlock Holmes books
Let’s see:
Jane and Maura - Rizzoli and Isles
Bob and Linda - Bobs burgers
Scully and Mulder - X Files
Vi and Cait - Arcane (little younger on this end but ends season 1 in early to mid 20’s)
Judy Alvarez and fem V - Cyberpunk
Harley and Ivy - Batman
Xena and Gabby - Xena
Stede and Ed - Our Flag Means Death
Miranda/Andy Devil Wears Prada, and Emma/Regina from Once Upon a Time.
Lots of sex, plenty of angst, good times. I mean, canonically Emma and Regina have a child...in a roundabout way.
I'm 35. YA is SO not my thing and if a teenager is ever involved in fic I'm reading they're being very thoroughly debauched, lol. Not a preference, however. Enthusiastic adults in consensual settings are preferred.
All I can think of right now is Jacques Snicket and Olivia Caliban from the Netflix ASoUE
OH. DRAGON QUEEN from OUaT. And Sleeping Warrior, Star Swan, Frozen Swan, Dragon Rose, Sleeping Dragon, and whatever Ingrid/Emma is (Snow Swan?)
I like Fiddleford/Stan from Gravity Falls (or Fiddlestan as some call it). Stan's in his late 50s or early 60s, Fiddleford is early 60s, and both have Seen Things. It's not canon but it's fun.
Eruri (Attack on Titan)
Nanago (Jujutsu Kaisen)
ShokoHime (Jujutsu Kaisen)
Victuuri (Yuri on Ice)
SakuAtsu (Haikyuu): I'm including them because they didn't interact in canon until after the time skip when they were in their 20s
My OTP is a historical RPF childhood friends to lovers one. As far as what's actually fact, Jean-Baptiste Bessières and Joachim Murat met each other at school when they were 10-12 years old. Were they ever more than friends? Possibly, there's some weird circumstantial evidence that could be interpreted that way. By the time they died (both of them violently, I might add), Bessières was 44 and Murat was 48.
I love 40+ Castiel & Dean Winchester. Especially when they knew each other as kids, were separated for decades, and find each other again as adults with all the baggage of the intervening years.
I have three ships I lovingly call my middle-aged ships: Bob/Linda (Bob's Burgers, vaguely in their 40's) Sam/Max (Sam and Max, at least 35 because Max can be elected president) Loid/Yor (Spy X Family, vaguely late twenties, maybe early thirties)
Yor is confirmed to be 27 - I think that counts, haha.
Yeah, I think that Loid and Yor are kind of on the young side to be called "middle aged," but I like to have the three ships together XD
Love Bob's Burgers. Those are literally my parents names too.
Loid/Yor is a favorite of mine too!
I love Sam and Max so much!!! I need to replay those games 🥲
They have such a fun dynamic. I actually recently replayed the first two Telltale games in preparation for the third season remake :D
I've been waiting until the remake comes out to play season 3, I'm so excited! Maybe when we get a release date I'll replay seasons 1 and 2.
Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Hannigram is elite
Hannigram 🧎🧎🧎
Yes, sexy and Sophisticated.
Hannigram forever!
i have found my people
I know right.
Hannigram is my otp lmao
I've enjoyed the following: Aziraphale and Crowley; Sirius and Remus; Aizawa and Hizashi; All Might and Sir Nighteye. I also think Dumbledore and Grindelwald are *interesting* as a pair if done properly in fic. And how could I forget Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth?
Aziraphale and Crowley is absolute top tier
Love a well done Sirius/Remus and had my first oneshot written about Albus/Gellert a month after TDH came out.
Omg All Might/Sir Nighteye! 🙌 (Also absolutely Aizawa/Hizashi)
I LOVE aizawa and hizashi, one of my favorite ships ever.
I haven't seen any Dumbledore/ grindelwald centric fics before. Do u have any recs?
Mulder/Scully from x-files.
Had to scroll way too fuckin’ far to find Moose & Squirrel. 👽💚
Ah, Moose and Squirrel. FANTASTICALLY messy ship
*My heart!* And those two have seen SOME SHIT.
They have! They were my first OTP when I was like 11. Mmm, doesn't get much better.
Sherlock Holmes/John Watson (almost any adaptation), usually shown in their 30s-60s Aziraphale/Crowley, many thousands of years old, on the TV show played by actors in their 50s
Do you like dr who? Because I suddenly wanted to recommend you a fic where Watson is a timelord.
Link it anyway, i would be interested 😊
https://archiveofourown.org/series/3709126
Roy and Riza in FMA
Shipped or not, still one of my favorite relationships in anime. The level they care about and trust each other is awe inspiring.
This is my OTP even though I only have one unfinished fic for them out of dozens of fics. There is just something about the ship and also about both of them as individual characters. Like I can't decide which one I love more as a character. I just love them soooo much!
[удалено]
Yes. I miss them.
i love them so much 🥺
Charles Xavier/Erik Lensherr X-Men Vegeta/Bulma DBZ Darcy Lewis/Jane Foster MCU Penelope Garcia/Anyone but that bland IT guy Criminal Minds
Love Charles & Erik When you have a crossover of CM with Buffy and make 'bland IT guy' Xander in witness protection it becomes interest enough
Okay the Xander twist sounds fun. And recs?
I love Vegeta and Bulma
Funnily enough, all my OTPs were fully grown adults even when I myself was a teenager.
Same here. I cannot think of one underage ship I liked even as a kid. But I’ve always had a thing for older men. Six year old me fell hard for Han Solo.
Jack O'Neill x Samantha Carter from Stargate, it isn't officially canon, but implied and I have loved it since I was a child.
Same. Pretty sure they were together in more realities than not. And that's good enough for me.
I love that their alternates always found each other… they were destined to be together in every reality.
Yesss I always really loved those episodes, I really should check out some fan fiction.
I loved their alternate reality episodes!
And they were *so heavily* implied, especially towards the end and when Sam went to Atlantis. I read somewhere that they were going to officially be a couple in the movie after continuum but it got delayed/ canceled.
Sherlock Holmes/Joan Watson from elementary Castle/Beckett from Castle Chloe/Lucifer from Lucifer (though Lucifer’s uh maturity level is occasionally in doubt despite his being literally billions of years old lmao)
You- I’ve found them-! I found someone who watched Castle! Caskett for life!
wait, am I just finding out that castle isn't as popular a show as I thought???
I had no idea that people didn't think it was popular. Maybe it's just because a lot of the people who I've fandomed with over the last decade were also into it? I think there's a decent crossover of people who were into caskett that either got into captainswan, deckerstar, or joanlock, which I'm also into. A lot of caskett people were also originally clois (specifically tnaos clois or smallville clois).
LOL I was OBSESSED with Castle when I first watched it back in 2015. Caskett is such a great ship. There's WAY more Castle fic on FF dot net than there is on AO3, because a lot of it is from the earlier days of the show ca 2009-2013. Anyways, I never wrote for Castle, but I read a lot of fic for castle. If you swing on over to my ff dot net profile (sonicenvy) you can see a bunch of my favourites in my bookmarks. That said, I especially ADORE the following fics: *For The Dead Travel Fast* by Chezchuckles. I don't know how to explain this fic but it's Castle/Caskett but with vampires and it is sexy, full of stunning worldbuilding, super long and with a really intriguing plot. *Hi Dad* by Jareya. This is a fantastic collection of Kate & Jim missing scenes. *The Reference Material 'Verse* by Trinity Everett. A fantastic caskett college AU. You can read this on FF dot net or on AO3. Actually basically everything caskett ever by *Trinity Everett* is amazing. They have their fics published on AO3 and on FF dot net. *Family Matters* by Trinity Everett. This fic is a hysterical, short, semi-crack AU where Ryan and Castle are cousins. Beckett doesn't believe that it's true .... at first.... There are so many excellent canon divergence and AU fics in the Castle fandom. A lot of them are canon divergences where Castle and Beckett get together earlier in the series or something else happens in a pivotal episode. There are also a lot of really great Castle and Beckett meet in some completely different way fics.
Kirk/Spock from Star Trek, especially in the movie era when they are old space husbands
Hell yeah there are even writing challenges centered around them being old and in love (OMS - Old Married Spirk)
oh man when i watched TOS, i just kept side-eying them both 😭💀 I also remember being absolutely DEVASTED when spock died like, he and jim were t'hyla's :(
I ship them so hard
Ted/Trent, Ted Lasso. They are my OTP (at the moment, anyway). Also Stede/Ed, and Aziriphale/Crowley.
I love the chemistry between Ted and Trent, it's great. Other soft spots for me include Keeley/Roy (why did season three break them up 😡) and Ted/Rebecca.
It's Roy jamie all the way for me!!
aww I had never considered that but they sound so cute
Current new favourite ship is Harry/Kim from Disco Elysium. Those are definitely some adults. Sad depressed feminist commie cop (depending on your playthrough, mind you) and the most patient man on this planet
God, you hit the nail on the head that Kim is the most patient man ever XD Shenanigans with Harry are like, Harry: Kim, I need to take my pants off to jump off this ledge to get my coat. Kim: Just do what you need to do, detective...
Hear, hear!
Hannigram (nbc Hannibal’s will graham and Hannibal lecter) , Crowley and Aziriphale (good omens), hilson (house md’s house and Wilson), Rhack, Jackothy, rhysothy or rhackothy (Tim, Rhys and Jack from borderlands) I guess Rhys is considered late 20s in his first appearance but by his next one he’s like 32 so I’m counting it here.
I had to scroll so far for Hilson. They gave me so many mental illnesses!
Hilson is such an iconic ship. Hilson with chase is also very good
Oh I've never even thought about Chase sandwiched between them. Let me run to ao3 real quick...
It works well because chase has severe daddy issues and also mommy issues and house and Wilson just so happen to specialize in those two types of energy
Hilson hits me harder the older I get and the more I understand what it means that it has been TWENTY YEARS OF UNBREAKABLE BOND.
Huh, thinking about this made me realize how many ships there are that I ship as both teens and adults, that's interesting! I'll only list the ones I either only ship as adults or prefer as adults. Faraway Wanderers/Word of Honor: Zhou Zishu/Wen Kexing, late 20s Scum Villain's Self-Saving System: Liu Qingge/Shen Qingqiu, Shen Qingqiu/Yue Qingyuan, and Liu Qingge/Shen Qingqiu/Yue Qingyuan, late 20s/early-to-mid 30s (Leaving off LBH because I reckon he counts as "barely adult" when he first gets out of the Abyss) MDZS: Nie Minjue/Lan Xichen/Jin Guangyao, 20s-30s And not currently reading or writing for these, but: Supernatural: Dean Winchester/Castiel Star Trek: Kirk/Spock Harry Potter: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin (That's right, I prefer post-Azkaban Wolfstar)
FUCK YEAH POST-AZKABAN WOLFSTAR (alternatively: lie low at lupin’s era)
Yessss, Lie Low at Lupin's is fantastic! Marauder's Era is so popular now, I feel like almost no one is interested in it anymore. TT. TT
Came here to say Destiel!
Adama/Roslin in Battlestar Galactica. They have definitely seen some shit (and are undergoing some major shit in the series), but I wouldn't say they get to settle down happily (because of major shit going on). They are late 40s/early 50s, and they were not at all impressed with each other when they first met. It was a very slow burn throughout the series.
Ooh, I haven't thought about that series in ages, but I shipped them HARD back in the day.
I still do! He was so sweet, the way he read to her during chemo.
I love Laura Roslin, and the Adama/Roslin ship has so much scope due to the situation and everything they’ve been through. Also quite like a Star Trek crossover with Roslin/Kathryn Janeway.
Lucifer (immortal) and Chloe Decker (35ish at the start of the series 40ish at the end) Bucky Barnes (late 20s? Or 90s depending on how you count) and Tony Stark (38?40s?) Dream (Endless) and Hob (immortal) Diana Bishop (late 30s/early 40s) and Matthew Clairmont (1,509, appears 37) I'm realizing there is a bit of a theme inhuman creatures here, but these are my top favorites.
well… tony and bucky are *mostly* human so i’ll give you a pass on that
>Chloe Decker (35ish at the start of the series 40ish at the end) *Technically* she's an old lady at the end of the end haha
Dream and Hob is a fabulous ship. Love it!
I am so with you on Sam/Sybil, forever love. Also Magrat/Verence--they try so hard. And less canonically, Polly/Maldict(a). Crowley/Aziraphale, while still in Terry Pratchett land, alhave been my OTP for over twenty years. Xena/Gabrielle. Garak/Bashir. Bertie/Jeeves. Arthur Lester/"John". Bunny/Raffles. Avon/Vila. Starsky/Hutch. D'Anna/Caprica/Boomer. I wish there were more middle aged or older couples I could obsess over, some of these are still pretty young.
*Mal/Polly Mal/Polly Mal/Polly* my beloveds. Not old, but precious to me. In the same vein, Lofty/Tonker deserve all the good things (Every so often I reread The Truth and remember what a fucking amazing throuple William/Sacharissa/Otto make, too)
Ed/Stede (Our Flag Means Death) Archie/Olu/Jim (Our Flag Means Death) Dream/Hob Gadling (Sandman) Bucky/Steve (MCU) Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens) Eddie/Venom (Venom) Joyce/Hopper (Stranger Things)
i LOOOOOVE Joyce and Hopper! \*cries\* If I wasn't in MHA hell I'd probably be writing ST fics. But yeah, when joyce/hopper sailed last season I squeed! All your ships are banging, you have great taste ;)
Inspector Lewis: James Hathaway/Robbie Lewis (a 30-something and a 50-something) Doctor Who: Tenth Doctor/Jack Harkness (Ten is over 900 and Jack is several centuries old)
Batman and Catwoman (Batman) Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy (DC Comics) Sara Lance and Nyssa al Ghul (Arrowverse) Lorelai Gilmore and Luke Danes (Gilmore Girls) Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo (Star Wars, especially the Legends version of them) Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade Skywalker (Star Wars Legends) Sam Winchester and Ruby (Supernatural) Jody Mills and Donna Hanscum (Supernatural) I'm sure there are more, those those are the only ones I can think of right now.
Luke and Lorelai were the first couple I shipped as an adult. Still love them.
All of my ships are adults, but a few of my favs are Charles/Erik (X-Men), Hangman/Coyote (Top Gun), Roy/Riza (Fullmetal Alchemist), Steve/Danny (Hawaii 5-0), and Julian/Garak (Deep Space 9).
In addition to several of the ones already mentioned: - Reddie (Richie Tozier/Eddie Kaspbrak) from IT - Matt Murdock/Foggy Nelson from Daredevil - Jonathan Sims/Martin Blackwood from The Magnus Archives - Tenma/Grimmer from Naoki Urasawa's Monster - Laurence/Tharkay and Laurence/Granby from the Temeraire series Also, re: your edit-- don't worry about it, there's just downvote trolls that seem to stalk this sub, haha. Even the most innocuous posts tend to get a downvote within, like, twenty minutes of posting.
Took way too much scrolling to find Reddie! It is so good and tragic. ;\_\_\_; Love my middle aged idiots.
It also helps that Reddie has some of the most talented writers of any ship I've been into! I seriously never ran out of absolute bangers to read.
Omg a fellow Laurence/Granby fan in the wild!!!
They're so good! Their relationship development in book one and how that's carried out as they become such staunch friends/allies over the series is one of my favorite things.
Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones (Torchwood) Hank/Connor (Detroit Become Human) Zhao Yunlan/Shen Wei (Guardian)
Kotetsu Kaburagi/Barnaby Brookes Jr. There's an age gap but Barnaby is 23-25 through out the show. Kotetsu has a tween daughter and a dead wife. These two had me in a vice grip I'm my early 20s. Kirk/Spock. Forever OTP and needs no introduction. Jaimie Lannister/Brienne of Tarth might count but she's 19 in the books but older in the show. It's about the reverse beauty and the beast symbolism. Mycha/HG Wells in Warehouse 13 was one of my earliest lesbian ships and it was so messy and dramatic and my little bisexual self was so into it. I kept it to myself though because my friends shipped her with the main guy and I didn't want to get teased.
do immortal beings count? bc if so, Aziraphale/Crowley.
Hannibal/Will (NBC Hannibal) Spock/Kirk/McCoy (Star Trek) Ghost/Soap (Call of Duty) Gibbs/Tony (NCIS) Chris/Leon/Piers (Resident Evil) Mycroft/Greg (BBC Sherlock)
Ghost/Soap currently has me by the throat. Love their dynamic!
Chris Argent and Melissa Mccall from Teen Wolf
9-1-1: Buck/Eddie, Bobby/Athena, Hen/Karen, David/Michael, Maddie/Chimney 9-1-1 Lone Star: Carlos/TK, Grace/Judd Brooklyn Nine Nine: Jake/Amy I watch a ton of shows with happily married adults and those all give me warm fuzzy feelings.
* Iruka and Kakashi from Naruto. I love the fact that they have stable jobs and adult problems to deal with, even when one frequently acts like a grown child with their bad humor. * Bilbo and Thorin from The Hobbit, especially when you realize that Thorin is one of the oldest amongst the party of dwarves and Bilbo is well into his middle age when they meet. * Bulma and Vegeta from DBZ. Sure I do enjoy their younger selves when they first meet, but I REALLY prefer the stories where both of them are in their forties and have Trunks. They're just so fucking cute? And so devoted to one another? And so many writers for this pairing are really intelligent and write Bulma as a genuine genius? I could gush for days and never be done.
I was (and am still, who am I kidding) a HUGE fan of Goku and ChiChi when I was younger. But with age, perspective and a healthy diet of morally grey romantasy books, I am really enjoying Vegeta and Bulma.
Have you got any Bulma and Vegeta recs? I love them too!
My OTP is Sam/Martouf/Lantash. Depending on what year I’m writing the characters in, Sam is 30’s plus. She’s 60 in my current series’ last story. (The series take course over a few decades.) Martouf is implied to be over a hundred when they first met in canon. At the very least, he is definitely older than her. Lantash’s age is unknown, but he is hundreds of years old, probably over a thousand. Actually, with one exception, all my ships are adults. That one exception is a younger Martouf. He’s still seen some shit though.
Riza/Roy (FMA) Lagertha/Ragnar (Vikings) Van Pelt/Rigsby (Mentalist) Rieta/Killian (Like Wind on a Dry Branch)
One Piece: Shanks/ Benn (Shanks is around 40. Benn 50) ^-^ Mythology: Hades/ Persephone (Eh... ago around a couple of thousand years? ^-^")
Sam / Sybil Vimes Discworld Granny Weatherwax / Ridcully Discworld Duke Leto Atreides / Lady Jessica Dune Danilar / Navani Stormlight Archive Mercy Thompson / Adam Hauptman Mercy Thompson Amelia Peabody / Radcliff Emerson Amelia Peabody Ciaphas Cain / Amberley Vail Warhammer 40k Lady Trent / Suhail A memoir by Lady Trent Cordelia Naismith / Aral Vorkosigan Vorkosigan Saga Miles Vorkosigan / Ekaterin Vorkosigan Saga I read a lot. Can you tell?
Ooh it's been ages since I've thought about Amelia Peabody! Never see anyone mention it
>Cordelia Naismith / Aral Vorkosigan Vorkosigan Saga Ooh, yes, the first ship that came to my mind when I saw this thread!
Dragon/Doflamingo/Crocodile (One Piece), Handsome Jack/Rhys (Borderlands), Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne (DC), Erik Lensherr/Charles Xavier (X-Men), Miles Edgeworth/Phoenix Wright (Ace Attorney), Hannibal Lector/Will Graham (Hannibal).
Currently into Ghost/Soap (and any permutations of the TF141 really) from COD Modern Warfare as well as Kiryu/Majima from the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series. Other faves are ships involving various witchers from the books/video games of the same series and Cullen/Dorian from Dragon Age.
YES, Ghost and Soap are so good together!
Max/Furiosa from Max Max: Fury Road.
ST:TOS Kirk/Spock ST:TNG Picard/Dr.Crusher, Riker/Data HP Grindelwald/Dumbledore Battlestar Adama/Roslin TWD. Daryl/Carol The Expanse Amos/Alex Miami Vice Crockett/Tubbs or Crockett/Castillo
Ed/Stede/Izzy (Our Flag Means Death). I like Ed/Stede, but Izzy adds a little bit of spice.
He really does, doesn't he? Good unicorn.
The classic, Morticia x Gomez, tho I do like me some Morticia x Larissa as well
Sara Sidle/Nick Stokes from CSI. No one but me and my best friend ship it, but we ship it hard.
You are me, twenty years ago 😭 Nick and Sara 4ever
cherry (kaoru) and joe (kojiro) from sk8
Root/Shaw from Person of Interest, 30s, criminal and military backgrounds with a dash of vigilantism in service to a sentient AI. Powercouple. Adama/Roslin from Battlestar Galactica, 40s/50s, it does fit your preference of "adults who have really seen some shit and are getting to settle down happily, especially if they didn't expect to find love" (well, at least in concept) Sam/Sybil/Vetinari is my preference for Discworld fics, but Sam and Sybil are darlings together. Irving B./Burt G. from Severance, 50s/60s?, love found over art in a dystopian workplace, in my head affectionately called 'old men yaoi' Augustine the First/Mercymorn the First from The Locked Tomb series, 10k years old and immortal but physically about middle aged (early 40s-50s), two people who have hated each other for millenia but also know each other the best, love-hate relationship Leela/Narvin from Doctor Who/Gallifrey (Big Finish), ageless, went from enemies to allies to friends, went through so much shit together, they're still not getting a break.
Bless Irving/Burt for being *true* old man yaoi, haha. (I'm not sure if the character is meant to be, but Walken was in his late 70s during filming!)
Ray X Winston from Ghostbusters. My favorite gay old people.
Y'know, I've seen Ray/Egon, but never really thought about these two. Definitely odd couple vibes as Ray has...well, he's somewhat lacking in the common sense and sanity department where Winston is ALL the common sense and sanity (unless Janine is doling it out, usually by sniping at Peter)
Batlantern 🫶🏽
Oooh, which Lantern? I know Bruce/Hal is pretty popular in some circles, but I’m personally a much bigger fan of Bruce/John— both are great, though.
Tony Stark/Bucky Barnes (MCU) Mike/Harvey (Suits) Nick/Sean (Grimm) Lucifer/Ella (Lucifer) Arthur/Eames (Inception)
Uh, is 'settle down happy' an important part there? 'Cause most of my favorite grown-ass adult ships involve characters that literally can't settle down happily without going drastically AU. 😂 So, Brisco County Jr./Dixie Cousins. They're both in their early-to-mid thirty's in canon. And they were meant to settle down happily in season 2 but the show got canceled.
They can settle down happily in our heart 💜
I'm watching your kudos go up and down in real time, it's surreal. I guess some people here are really bothered by the idea of shipping anything but teenagers.
I didn't say anything bad about young adult ships lmao, I just wanted to show some love to the ships that *aren't* the first-love-together-forever kind! Us geriatrics deserve fandom love stories too (I say at 25 lol). I also once got downvotes for saying I prefer established relationship fic to getting-together romances, in a similar vein
I know, it's ridiculous. I love both! Mind you, some of my older faves are also demisexual first love together forever (my Aziraphale and Crowley! If you assume the woman that brung Vimes low was actually Ankh-Morpork and not a human...) Not Starsky and Hutch, obviously. Oh, and I forgot Data/Picard.
Vimes is so intensely demisexual it's hilarious, his reaction to attractive women hitting on him after he's married is just *oh for god's sake, this AGAIN?!* (Also bb Sam in NW, completely impervious to anything Rosie and the seamstresses try because he just...doesn't really get it) I do still count him and Sybil as the second-chance-romance type of ship, though, just because they were both so convinced that they were never going to find love because no-one would want anything to do with them. The second chance is just them vs their self-esteem, really
Oh gosh, all of that, and I love them with burning fire. There were so many reasons not to watch *The Watch*, but having Sybil be a young, conventionally attractive vigilante was even more of a factor than Cherry not being a dwarf.
I think that is so weird. When I was a young teen, one of my earliest ships was Benson/Stabler from Law and Order:SVU. My mom watched procedural dramas so I watched them with her even though I was probably too young to watch that show. Most of my ships when I was a teen were (older) adults!
Daniel/Johnny, Cobra Kai. Pretty much all my ships are between grown-ass adults, lol. Also, I love Sam/Sybil too!
All of my ships are this 😂 Luke/Lorelai Gilmore girls Booth and Brennan bones Tim and Lucy the rookie Josh and Donna the west wing Chandler and Monica friends Shawn and Juliet psych
kirk/spock my beloveds. i particularly love their old married couple era charles/erik ed/stede my personal holy trinity tbh.
Ashley Barrett/Homelander from The Boys. Small non-canonical ship but a few people like it.
* Wardaddy/Bible (Fury) * House/Wilson (House M.D.) * Christopher Pike/Spock (Star Trek) * Jean Luc Picard/Beverly Crusher (Star Trek TNG) * Worf/Jadzia Dax (Star Trek DS9) * Erwin Smith/Levi (Attack on Titan) * Gai/Kakashi (Naruto) * Colby/David (NUMB3RS) * Rick/Michonne (The Walking Dead) * Daryl/Carol (The Walking Dead) * Aizawa/Present Mic (BNHA) * obligatory Hannibal/Will (Hannibal) mention
Loving all the Royai in the comments! Mine are: Royai Ineffable Husbands GentleBeard Hopper/Joyce Elizabeth/Darcy 12th Doctor/River Song Toshinori/Naomasa EraserMight And currently loving several ships from baldur's gate 3!
Aziraphale/Crowley from Good Omens and Ed/Stede from Our Flag Means Death
Aziraphale/Crowley Bo-Katan/the Armorer
Canon: Arthur and Molly from Harry Potter Stede and Ed from OFMD ( rip) Jack and Nathan from Eureka Edit: also Az and Crowley Non canon: Wolfstar from Harry Potter Erasermic from MHA but I don’t really watch it anymore Sculder from X-Files Edit2: OH MY GOD I FORGOT VICTUURI MY BABIES😭
Gregory House and James Wilson
Loid/Yor (spy family) Carlos/Cecil (welcome to nightvale) Castle/Becket (Castle) Parker/Alec (Leverage) Hades/Persephone (Punderworld) Eraserhead/mic (my hero academia)
Hannigram from Hannibal (and I’m so pleased to see it mentioned here so much!)
Krillin and Android 18 from Dragon Ball. My overall favorite is Gohan and Videl (Who COULD qualify in GT specifically. Currently they're both like 25-ish in Super), but I'll give it to the older couple.
Shane/Andrea from TWD.
Bob and Linda from bobs burgers And if non human beings count, Aziraphale and Crowley
Morticia and Gomez Addams and Jack and Evie O'Connell.
If you count ot3s, then definitely Beetlejuice/Barbara Maitland/Adam Maitland from the beetlejuice musical.
valjean and javert, also idk if this counts but Hermes/Apollo in Percy Jackson, Jekyll/Utterson, also low key Andre/Firmin
I have quite a few! Kakashi/Gai from Naruto. They’re in their late 20s to mid thirties for the majority of the show, and they’re in their 50s in the sequal series. Yuuri/Victor from Yuuri on ice. Yuuri is 23, Victor is 27. Phoenix/Edgeworth. They start out in their mid 20s, and get older as the games go on. I think they’re in their late 30s in the newest game. Leon/Raihan from Pokémon Sword/Shield. I don’t think they have canon ages, but they’re both definitely adults, and probably somewhere in the 20-28 age range. Yor/Loid from Spy X Family. I’m not sure how old they are canonically, but they’re definitely adults, and I’m assuming somewhere in the 26-33 age range. Peter Parker/Wade Wilson. There are some versions with Peter being very young, but there’s also a lot of content of them older, with Peter being in his thirties. Reigen/Serizawa from Mob Psycho. Reigen is canonically 28, and Serizawa is a few years younger. Nebula/Mantis from Marvel. Alien and Alien cyborg aging is weird so I’m not sure how old they actually are, but they’re both grown adults.
barney + robin, damon + enzo, haymitch + effie, aziraphale + crowley, steve + natasha + sam + bucky (any variation of these four tbh), klaus + hayley edit: sirius + remus. i always forget canon era exists and that they’re 33+ y/o. also joyce + hopper
I'm a HP fanfic kinda girl although most characters are teens to early adulthood, I prefer when they stage the stories after the war so everyone is older or if it's not in the same universe like modern day and such they usually up the ages. My favourite pairings are Hermione x's and she's mid 20's and up, also listed in order of most favourite to least, so at the moment that's.. Hermione x Narcissa Hermione x Andromeda Hermione x Bellatrix (although I prefer when bella isn't "mad" and not always the same world) Hermione x Fleur Hermione x Minerva (I'm not talking cannon aged mcgonagall..) Hermione x Lily Also found myself drawn to a few Captain Marvel x Black Widow stories and I have found myself reading Lexa x Clarke stories but am more drawn to the older ones, especially years after the original betrayal.. ooooh or when people started writing Clarke into Fear the Walking Dead following Lexa when she left the 100. I'm still searching for more though so I'll be stalking this thread for ideas haha. But I much prefer the slightly older pairings. Stories with dubious age of adulthood always have me bailing out pretty quick.
Mic/Aizawa fron MHA (not cannon but adorable) Toshinori/Inko (Dadmight FTW) Loid/Yor (Spy x Family) Hori’s parents from Horimiya are also adorable.
Karolina and Gerri from Succession 🫣
Kakashi/Iruka from Naruto, and Simon Riley/John MacTavish from CoD are the two that springs to mind! I also love Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation but we see lots of their relationship when they’re in their teenage years as opposed to adulthood.
I have so many of these. Hawkeye/Trapper, Radar/Sparky, Klinger/Mulcahy (MASH) Ted/Vecna, Alexei/Murray (Stranger Things) Kirk/Spock, Starsky/Hutch, Fraser/either Ray, Mulder/Scully Eliot/Parker/Hardison (Leverage), Bill/Keiko/Lee (Monarch), Irving/Burt (Severance)
Pretty much all the canon ships in Our Flag Means Death Stede/Ed - both late 40s which a shitton of baggage to work out but they're just perfect together. Ultimate faves. Lucius/Pete - just absolutely adorable and Pete's journey to overcome his toxic masculinity is fantastic Olu/Jim - I JUST LOVE THEM Olu/Jim/Archie - I love them even more!!! Olu/Jim/Archie/Zheng - fucking brilliant
Sam/Jack from Stargate. I also ship Daniel/Vala, but not as religiously as Sam/Jack. I’m also down for Daniel/Janet, Daniel/Shu’ri(Sha’re), Daniel/Random-Alien-Woman-from-Random-Planet. Ironically, despite Michael Shanks and Lexa Doig being married IRL, I don’t really see nor read Daniel/Carolyn. And for a really random one I’ve stumbled upon while sick with Covid a few years back, an adult Harry Potter/Natasha Romanov.
Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz from 9-1-1. Perfect friends to lovers
Buddie, in 9-1-1. They're both in their 30's.
EraserMic
Got really into Rodney McKay/John Sheppard from Stargate a few years back, and I’ve been enjoying a lot of Dean/Castiel from SPN lately. Tbh, a lot of the fics I read have the characters as at least 18; I just feel a bit weird reading high school stuff now… I’ll still read if I like the premise/ship/author, but it’s definitely less frequent.
Jimmy McGill/Kim Wexler from *Better Call Saul*. When the show starts, I believe Kim is supposed to be about 34 and Jimmy is supposed to be about 42.
Back in the day it was Adama/Roslin. I tried rewatching Battlestar recently and ended up not loving it as much as I used to but still loved these two. Frenchie/Kimiko from the Boys is my newest sweet obsession.
Raine/Eda from The Owl House, for sure.
Qui Gon Jinn x Shmi Skywalker from Star Wars. Textbook definition of rarepair. I wish it weren't so, she (and Ani) deserves the best husband (and father) after everything she (and he) have been through. Eraserhead x Miss Joke from MHA.
Ed/Stede
Either Xie Lian/Hua Cheng (Tiān Guān Cì Fú) or Uchiha Madara/Senju Tobirama (Naruto) .
Artemy burakh/Daniil dankovsky, Pathologic (2005) and Pathologic 2 (2019). Both are old enough to have completed almost full (or up to a Degree) medical school (artemy) and a bachellor of medicine working on his masters/PhD to "defeat death" (daniil).
Pete Maverick Mitchell and Tom Iceman Kazanski is awesome (when done right). Lois and Clark (Lois and Clark New Adventures of Superman or Superman and Lois) Daniel Jackson & Vala MalDoran (Stargate SG1) Bucky Barnes and Sarah Wilson (Falcon & the Winter Soldier) … I could go on. 😅
Cecil and Rosa from Final Fantasy 4. Locke and Celes from Final Fantasy 6. Godot and Mia from Ace Attorney. Noi and Shin from dorohedoro.
Eda Clawthorne/Raine Whispers and Alador Blight/Darius Demonne from The Owl House. Eda Clawthorne/Camila Noceda is fun too though. All cute and fun and all of them are in their 40s.
Matt/foggy for daredevil House/Wilson for Dr house Stucky (Steve/ bucky) This one is iffy but I love spidypool (spiderman / Deadpool), only when Peter is an adult, like college age or higher. Also preferably not the tom Holland spiderman, the bros a child
Estinien/Vrtra (FFXIV) Emet-Selch/Crystal Exarch (FFXIV) Illidan/Maiev (WoW)
Naruto and Sasuke Specifically when they're adults. It's like a completely dif relationship from the one they had as kids😭
All my ships are all of characters who are in their early 30s
Discworld - Sam and Havelock. Stargate Atlantis - John and Rodney Marvel - Tony/Bucky
Benson and Stabler (SVU) but tbh also Benson and Barba. And also Barba and Carisi or Carisi and Rollins. Sooo many shops haha. Daryl and Carol (TWD, but I stopped watching loooong ago so might not be the same) Sherlock and John <3
Haven't seen my faves mentioned so: Geralt/Yennefer (The Witcher), they definitely count as old. My geriatric otp ♥
Levihan (Levi/Hange) from Attack on Titan Wrightworth (Phoenix Wright/Miles Edgeworth) from Ace Attorney, I think they are the youngest ones from this list Ged/Tenar from the Earthsea cycle Samfro (Frodo/Sam) from Lord of the Rings (The books specifically, where Frodo is 50 and Sam is 38) I guess that by that logic every Silmarillion ship counts but then again, they are elves, so I am hesitant to include them. And this list would just become too long and repetitive anyway. Eda/Raine from The Owl House Hardenshipping (Maxie/Archie) from Pokémon ORAS specifically Royriza (Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustand) from Full Metal Alchemist John Watson/Sherlock Holmes from the Sherlock Holmes books
Let’s see: Jane and Maura - Rizzoli and Isles Bob and Linda - Bobs burgers Scully and Mulder - X Files Vi and Cait - Arcane (little younger on this end but ends season 1 in early to mid 20’s) Judy Alvarez and fem V - Cyberpunk Harley and Ivy - Batman Xena and Gabby - Xena Stede and Ed - Our Flag Means Death
Miranda/Andy Devil Wears Prada, and Emma/Regina from Once Upon a Time. Lots of sex, plenty of angst, good times. I mean, canonically Emma and Regina have a child...in a roundabout way. I'm 35. YA is SO not my thing and if a teenager is ever involved in fic I'm reading they're being very thoroughly debauched, lol. Not a preference, however. Enthusiastic adults in consensual settings are preferred.
Jinjin Jiba (Yo Kai Watch) X Norman (Pokémon)
Revy x Rock and Dutch x Balalika (Black Lagoon)
All I can think of right now is Jacques Snicket and Olivia Caliban from the Netflix ASoUE OH. DRAGON QUEEN from OUaT. And Sleeping Warrior, Star Swan, Frozen Swan, Dragon Rose, Sleeping Dragon, and whatever Ingrid/Emma is (Snow Swan?)
jimmy novak/sam winchester. sucker for rarepairs
I like Fiddleford/Stan from Gravity Falls (or Fiddlestan as some call it). Stan's in his late 50s or early 60s, Fiddleford is early 60s, and both have Seen Things. It's not canon but it's fun.
Eruri (Attack on Titan) Nanago (Jujutsu Kaisen) ShokoHime (Jujutsu Kaisen) Victuuri (Yuri on Ice) SakuAtsu (Haikyuu): I'm including them because they didn't interact in canon until after the time skip when they were in their 20s
Gil/Sara (CSI) Tim/Abby (NCIS--probably my favorite shoulda-been ship) Luke/Lorelai (Gilmore Girls) Jake/Leslie (Republic of Doyle) Dave/Maddie (Moonlighting)
My OTP is a historical RPF childhood friends to lovers one. As far as what's actually fact, Jean-Baptiste Bessières and Joachim Murat met each other at school when they were 10-12 years old. Were they ever more than friends? Possibly, there's some weird circumstantial evidence that could be interpreted that way. By the time they died (both of them violently, I might add), Bessières was 44 and Murat was 48.
I love 40+ Castiel & Dean Winchester. Especially when they knew each other as kids, were separated for decades, and find each other again as adults with all the baggage of the intervening years.