It's definitely a struck-by-lightning deal for me. I can be influenced by good fanwork, though. I rarely ship anyone in the SW universe (except SkySolo 4ever), but the "Sith Academy" series made me ship Obi-Wan and Darth Maul. It's never a conscious decision, but if someone can show me chemistry I like between two characters in a fanwork I'm more likely to start shipping it.