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- OJ – “Ehh, who gives a hoot?”
- Paper – “Hey-hey, hoot! Uses the same letters!”
- OJ – “I love it.”
- — Inanimate Insanity S2E18, "Objects in Mirror"
PayJay is the slash ship between Paper and OJ from the Inanimate Insanity fandom.
Canon[]
Inanimate Insanity 1[]
Paper and OJ had very minimal interactions in the first few episodes due to Paper being the first character to be eliminated. They were also on different teams. When OJ and Salt found out that a member from idiotic island was going to join, OJ suggested that Paper should be on their team instead of Pepper. When Paper came back to the game in episode 10, everything changed. He joined OJ’s team (Team Chickenleg) in that episode.
OJ breaks up his alliance due to him not being able to stand Bomb. When he decides to form a new alliance, Paper asks if he can join, which OJ gladly accepts.
In episode 11, while Paper and OJ rowed in a boat together for the challenge, Paper noticed OJ was upset, and asked what was wrong. OJ told Paper he’s upset over how Bomb betrayed him in the last contest. Paper understands him and talks about how Knife betrayed him too. He says that they’ll stick together and that he’ll be there for OJ. When OJ said the word “idiotic island,” while thanking him, he triggers Paper’s alter Evil Paper to front, which causes him to throw OJ overboard out of the boat. He didn’t mean to, and when he comes back to front, he apologizes, saying he doesn’t know what’s going on with him.
In episode 12, both OJ and Paper expressed their dislikes of MePhone making everything the way it was back in the first episode for the 1 year anniversary.
In episode 13, OJ started to notice that Paper's mental health wasn’t going so well, Paper thinking he is a monster that hurts all the people around him. OJ helps figure out that Paper has trauma from Idiotic Island, which made him form an alter that OJ dubs Evil Paper. When Paper passes out during the challenge, OJ is worried for him and tries to wake him up, worried he might be hurt even when other contestants don’t seem to take it all that seriously. Thankfully, he does wake up, after having beaten his alter Evil Paper. OJ congratulates him on having successfully overcome Evil Paper.
In episode 15, Paper apologizes to OJ for not giving him orange juice when he needed it when he was out of juice, which damaged their friendship. OJ appreciates that Paper is the first teammate he’s had that hasn’t betrayed him and actually apologized, and forgives him so they can become friends again. Both of them work together and Paper during the challenge, lets OJ win and get into the finals to make up for being self-centered earlier.
At the end of the series, OJ wins II and tells Paper what he’s going to do with the million dollars.
Inanimate Insanity 2[]
Even though Paper and OJ didn’t make it to season two, they still interacted a bit. When OJ got shattered and died in episode 1, Paper is the one to tell MePhone to revive him. Paper then tells OJ the sad news about how they didn’t make it to II 2. OJ doesn’t care much about II 2, because he can just rest in the hotel, and he’s already won season 1.
In episode 7, when OJ finds out that MePhone4 kept eliminated contestants trapped in a closet in his hotel, he sues him. Paper is at his side in court, being his defendant.
Inanimate Insanity Invitational[]
Paper is not present in season 3 even if OJ is, so they don't get a chance to interact. The most of a positive implication that can be spotted is in episode 1, when OJ is asked if he was the one to organize the boat trip, to which he responds that if he did, the attendees list would have been very different.
Inanimate Insanity 2 (cont.)[]
In episode 16, OJ and Paper welcome in Knife and Suitcase to the Hotel OJ Party party. Paper uses the acronym 'HOP' for 'Hotel OJ Party', which OJ criticizes, this offends Paper, who tells OJ he "couldn't just go with it, could [he]?". Later on in the party, OJ suggests that Paper make the paper hats more cylindrical, to look like a glass of orange juice. This is Paper's final straw, and he expresses how he feels like OJ always makes everything about himself, even though Paper helps out a lot, and that while he loves working together, it feels like to OJ he doesn't exist. OJ then hears a siren and starts panicking, everyone including Paper becoming concerned when OJ tells them about a sound they don't hear. OJ screams when he sees MePhoneX (being the only one to see him) and screams at him to get away, before suddenly losing his facial features and limbs, becoming Inanimate. Paper stares in horror. Lightbulb tries to cheer up everyone after OJ's death, describing it as an isolated incident but Paper seems to be traumatized by this. Later on, Paper can be seen next to OJ's body, never leaving his side (at least when on screen), mourning his death.
In episode 17, when Salt says that she's clearly a little feisty since her "boyfriend" died, Paper angrily yells that OJ is not her boyfriend. Salt says she knows this and he calms down, until she offhandedly says that he's now obviously her ex, and Paper looks angry again. In a later scene, he is seen solemnly staring at OJ's fallen figure, but is comforted by Pepper.
In episode 18, OJ and Paper finally get reunited for the first time since OJ's death. They call out each other's names as OJ runs to Paper, and the two hug. Paper expresses regret for the words he said to OJ before he died, and that he would have hated for their relationship ended this way, but OJ reassures him, telling him that he was right. OJ says that once they get out, the Hotel won't be called Hotel OJ anymore. Paper asks what he will call it now, to which OJ responds "Eh, Who gives a hoot?". Paper expresses a liking for Hoot as a hotel name since it uses the same letters. OJ tells him he loves it as he holds his hand, and Paper reciprocates the hold, looking touched and blushing. Salt suddenly interrupts their moment, and OJ and Paper start talking over one another angrily asking her to leave them alone. Pepper apologizes for Salt, and tells them she's happy for them. Throughout the rest of the episode, they can be seen together, like when holding hands when readying themselves to run or holding each other close with one arm during the finale song.
Inanimate Insanity 4[]
In episode 1, when OJ is asked what the game has taught him, he says "Just because not everyone could be trusted, didn't mean I couldn't trust anyone." He is very likely referring to Paper in the last part as Paper was the one person he could trust after getting betrayed by others in Season 1.
In episode 2, Paper beamed that he'd join the game, as this time, there would be no forced isolation. OJ expresses excitement for Paper, saying, "YOU'RE GONNA CRUSH IT!". Paper giggles, and then waves OJ goodbye. The latter then blushes as Suitcase, Cabby, and Knife smirk at him in a teasing manner. OJ tries to ensure that there is no favoritism towards Paper, although the three others don't seem to believe him. Later on in the episode, Fan calls out Paper and Pepper for spending most of their time with OJ or Salt, which causes Paper to slightly blush. During the elimination ceremony, Paper exclaims, "I'm dating a winner!", which is referring to OJ.
Quotes[]
- “No, I think Paper was a good person. He should join.”
- — OJ in Inanimate Insanity S1E9, "The Snowdown"
- OJ – “I don't wanna hear it. I'm making a new alliance.”
- Paper – “New... alliance? Can I join?”
- OJ – “You know what? Yeah. We're an alliance now.”
- — Inanimate Insanity S1E11, "Aquatic Conflict"
- Paper – “Us allies gotta stick together! I'm here for ya!”
- OJ – “Thanks! You're really nice, Paper.”
- — Inanimate Insanity S1E11, "Aquatic Conflict"
- Paper – “You know what, OJ? You're right. I'm sorry I never helped you with your problem after all these months.”
- OJ – “Wow, really? Every other person who's ever been my friend has betrayed me or used me.”
- Paper – “Well, I will help you through the rest of Inanimate Insanity, no matter what!”
- — Inanimate Insanity S1E15, "The Tile Divide"
- Paper – “OJ, I caused you lots of pain this morning. You deserve this.”
- OJ – “Paper, you’re the best!”
- — Inanimate Insanity S1E15, "The Tile Divide"
- “No! I can't believe Paper didn't make it this far...And you! Paper deserved this more than you! And I'm gonna win for him!”
- — OJ to Taco after Paper gets voted out in Inanimate Insanity S1E16, "The Penultimate Poll"
- Salt – “Look I'm clearly a little feisty ever since my boyfriend [OJ] died.”
- Paper – “HE IS NOT YOUR BOYFRIEND!”
- — Inanimate Insanity S2E17, "Through No Choice of Your Own"
- OJ – “Paper!”
- Paper – “OJ! OJ… the last thing I said to you was how I wanted LESS of you in my life? And I couldn’t believe that would’ve been how we left things off.”
- OJ – “No, you were right. I was so in my own head, I couldn't even see it. If we get out of here, the hotel's not going to be called Hotel OJ anymore!”
- Paper – “Oh! Uh, what do you think you'll call it?”
- OJ – “Ehh, who gives a hoot?”
- — Inanimate Insanity S2E18, "Objects in Mirror"
- Paper – “If forced isolation is finally out of the equation, I'm willing to give it another go!”
- OJ – “Oh, love this for you Paper! You're gonna crush it!”
- — OJ cheering on Paper when he decides to join the game in Inanimate Insanity S4E2, "Cob Mentality"
- OJ – “...As will everyone involved. I will be showing no favoritism.”
- Knife – “Starting when?”
- — Knife teasing OJ about his bias towards Paper in Inanimate Insanity S4E2, "Cob Mentality"
- “And I'm dating a winner!”
- — Paper in Inanimate Insanity S4E2, "Cob Mentality"
Fanon[]
PayJay is one of the most well known slash ships within the Inanimate Insanity fandom, as well as one of the oldest ships in the OSC. It became popular due to their interactions once Paper rejoined the game in season 1. The ship was acknowledged multiple times by the creators of the show even before being confirmed canon, and many people working on the show are in support of it.
Before the ship was explicitly confirmed to be canon, most fans already considered them to be a couple, and many even predicted that they would be canonized in the final act of the Inanimate Insanity Movie (although, most were joking). After Episode 18, many fans were ecstatic about the moment Paper and OJ became a confirmed couple, and took to social media to express their excitement.
Although there are lots of fans that are happy about the confirmed ship, there are also some who dislike the canonization of the ship or how it is portrayed within the show. This has caused discourse between those with differing opinions about how PayJay is handled in canon.
In the early days of the fandom, PayJay could be rivaled by Saltjay, as Salt has a crush on OJ, but ever since their interactions due to Paper rejoining the game, PayJay had been the more popular ship. It is sometimes shipped alongside Saltpep.
On AO3, they have 500+ works, being the most written slash ship, and 2nd most written ship overall in the Inanimate Insanity fandom.
Fandom[]
- TUMBLR
- PayJay posts on Tumblr
- Paper x OJ posts on Tumblr
- WIKIS
- OJ and Paper on Inanimate Insanity Wiki
Trivia[]
- Justin Chapman, a former director and Paper's former voice actor, is a PayJay shipper.
- In 2015, Justin made a tweet saying they had been discussing PayJay marriage scenarios with Brian, and that it would likely be an Autumn wedding at Purgatory Mansion.[4]
- In Season 1, OJ was notably more understanding towards Paper than anyone else. After befriending Paper, although still harsh or egotistical at times, he tries to be a kinder person overall.
- This is shown through instances like when Bomb takes the win in a challenge, and OJ sees it as a betrayal and does not forgive him, but when Paper apologizes for voting for OJ, he just tells Paper it's okay and that he understands.
- OJ also helps Paper with his issues, and when he is being bullied by Apple in "Inanimate Smackdown".
- When OJ wins season 1, he makes a speech about friendship and plans to build a hotel for everyone to live in, showing that he has learned to be kinder.
- At Hotel OJ, Paper and OJ were roommates.
- In a live stream podcast, Taylor and Justin acted out the "Soup Store" skit as Paper and OJ.[5]
- In the "13 Years of Inanimate Insanity!" live stream, Justin jokingly says that Nickel is a big PayJay shipper, and Adam, acting as Nickel, says "I am a big PayJay fan!"[6]
- In 2020, when the II merch store introduced Double Shirts (shirts that had some of the most iconic duos of the show on them), OJ and Paper were one of the duos.[7]
- The official Inanimate Insanity Twitter account posted PayJay fan art for one of the Fan Art Fridays.[8]
- At the end of Fan's Fantastic Feature Episode 4, Fan mentions how OJ had threatened him to have Paper on as a guest, or else OJ would kick him out of the room.[9]
- In the Hotel OJ Party live stream, when Fan is introducing Paper, he calls him "OJ's right hand man."[10]
- When Fan and Paper are arguing about the acronym for Hotel OJ Party, Paper accusingly says "You think you know OJ better than I know OJ!?"[11]
- When everyone is asked who their favorite friend is, Paper answers OJ, to no one's surprise.[12]
- When Balloon tells Cheesy he can only pick one single friend, Paper asks, "They have to be single?"[13]
- Paper accidentally says OJ, when meaning to say OG, and Balloon calls this a "Freudian slip."[14]
- When asked about how Paper is coping with OJ's deletion (after S2E16), Justin says "very poorly, disastrously, so bad, so incredibly bad, very very sad, incredibly depressed, unjoyous, life is ruined for all time" and that "OJ meant a lot to Paper".[15]
- In a live stream, Justin acts out a non-canon love confession to OJ as Paper.[16]
- According to Justin, if OJ didn't get deleted before getting to respond to Paper's confrontation, he would've put in the effort to understand where Paper is coming from and talk it out with him.[17]
- In response to a question asking about what PayJay would dress up as for Halloween, Justin answers that Paper would be an orange Among Us crewmate and OJ would be a blue Among Us crewmate.[18]
- During a S2E17 Q&A live stream, when asked if PayJay is canon, Brian says "How canon do you want them to be? I think there are a lot of things that are pretty obvious..."[19]
- During a S2E18 Q&A live stream, Brian is asked how he felt writing the PayJay scene in the finale. He says there was no hesitation, and that for years he knew he wanted an OJ and Paper side plot in the finale.[20]
- In a live stream titled "Melancholic Rambles For You To Study To", Justin answers a few questions about PayJay.
- They confirm that Paper and OJ are boyfriends, and it isn't just mutual feelings.[21]
- When asked if Paper would rant about Warrior Cats to OJ, Justin says that if OJ were to bring up something that reminded Paper of Warrior Cats, Paper would talk about it. They also say that OJ likes to listen if it's Paper.[22]
- Justin says they think OJ and Paper would push their beds together.[23]
- During a Q&A panel for the Inanimate Insanity Movie, Adam Katz clarifies that PayJay is canon, and says "For us, we thought that PayJay was canon for as long as we could remember. We were like- they're a thing probably. So we're like, let's just put it on the screen."
- In another Q&A panel, when they are asked about the intention with Paper blushing at OJ, Justin says they have a very special connection and confirms that the ship is canon.[24]
- In a twitter thread, Brian writes a simple “Yes!” to the “Is PayJay canon?” question.[25]
- This means that all three directors at the time have confirmed that PayJay is canon.
- They are the first two contestants to be confirmed as an official couple in the history of the show.
- Brian Koch has talked about how he didn't see the moment in Episode 18 as the moment when Paper and OJ became "canon" because to him "OJ and Paper have clearly always been very important to each other's lives..."[26]
- In response to a fan's tweet asking how long Paper and OJ have had feelings for one another, Brian writes "In my mind, it's been for quite some time, we're only just seeing that side more overtly now."[27]
- Adam Katz tweeted out an image of Paper and OJ and captioned it "Stay mad #loveislove". [28]
- This was in response to a fan's screenshot of the Parental Guidance section on the Inanimate Insanity Movie IMDb page, which described Paper and OJ showing affection to one another as "inappropriate".
- Dee Cashin, a voice actor for multiple Inanimate Insanity characters, is a PayJay shipper.[29]
- Damien Valentine, a storyboard artist for Inanimate Insanity, is a PayJay shipper and story boarded the PayJay scene in "Objects in Mirror".
- On Valentine's Day, a clip of the Paper and OJ moment in "Objects in Mirror" was posted on the official AnimationEpic channel.[30]
- Through Jazzy Oliver's (Paintbrush's VA) live streams with Patrick Mealey and Jackson Searing (OJ and Paper's VAs respectively), it is evident that the voice actors are very supportive of the PayJay ship.[31][32][33]
- Paper and OJ's ideal date would be "locking themselves in a room away from work and relax[ing] with each other".[34]
- In the 2025 BFDI x II Meetup QNAs, there were several questions and answers relating to PayJay.
- Adam's favorite ship within Inanimate Insanity is PayJay.[35]
- It was confirmed multiple times that there will be more PayJay in Season 4.
- Adam stated that one of the reasons PayJay was made canon was to show how the contestants had broken out of their programming.[36]
- When asked about what kind of cat Paper would like, Adam says "I feel like Paper may like an orange cat potentially. Y'know, going the OJ theme!"[37]
- Adam confirms that Paper and OJ started dating between S2E18 and S4E1.
Gallery[]
- Main article: PayJay/Gallery
Variations[]
- PaySaltJay refers to the ship between Paper, Salt and OJ
