why did shipping turn into a contest of “most accurate” or “most likely to be canon” why do i have to get a 40-slide powerpoint, three defense lawyers, a fortune teller, and a background check of myself and my whole immediate family to say i want two ppl to have sloppy makeouts in a car
Also: when did shipping turn into a ‘which relationship is the most healthiest in real life terms.’ I mean I ship people because I think their story is interesting, not to get relationship advice.
I ship people because I think their story is interesting, not to get relationship advice.
If you ship johnlock das cool.
If you ship sherlolly das cool.
If you ship mystrade das cool.
If you ship sherstrade das cool.
If you ship adlock das cool.
If you ship molstrade das cool.
If you ship anything other than what a majority or your friends or this or that blog ships das cool.
You can ship what you want.
But stop hating on those ships and those people. It’s a headcanon and fiction let people pretend. No one is being hurt until you hate on others ships.
Preach!
Amen! Love is love is love is love is love. Even in Fiction.
There are a couple of things about current shipping culture that confuse me.
1. The focus on whether or not a pairing will become canon as a reason people should ship something or not. Do you not understand what the “transformative” part of “transformative works” means?”
2. This idea that saying “I ship that” means “I think that, as presented in canon,this is a perfect, healthy relationship that everyone should model their relationship after.”
Sometimes shipping something does mean that. Sometimes shipping something means “Person A is a trash bag who doesn’t deserve person B but I would love to explore how Person A might grow to deserve Person B.” Sometimes it means “I want these characters to live together forever in a conflict free domestic AU.” Sometimes it means “I want Person A to forever pine after Person B. Nothing is beautiful and everything hurts.” And sometimes it just means you like their faces and want to see Person A and Person B bone in various configurations and universes.
Listen to your parents, kids.
This really should be one of a handful of Public Service Announcements randomly and chronically inserted into one’s dash.
I understand the desire for a ship to become canon–but even if it never does, that doesn’t make it any less valid or meaningful.
You can ship characters for happily ever afters, sure, you can ship them for tragically-then-happily, you can ship two or three or four or more, you can ship endless combinations of personality types and relationship dynamics
but you can also ship characters under very specific circumstances, or for a certain period of their life but not for all of it, or only in a certain universe. You might say “I ship these characters” and what you mean is you think they are fascinating together and could have a story together. That story could be any kind of story.
Sometimes it means you want them together for the rest of their lives. Sometimes it means something different than that.
I don’t know about you, but for me, “I ship it” means “There is a story in this ship and I am interested in that story.”
for me, “I ship it” means “There is a story in this ship and I am interested in that story.”
1. limbo – the canon-shippers Those who ship the actual pairings as they appear in canon. Barely even belong in Shipper Hell at all. Condemned to a miserable dependence on a fickle deity. Featuring: Buffy/Angel; Peeta/Katniss; Edward/Bella.
2. lust – the crack-shippers Okay, so they ship it, but do they ship it? The mildest ring of shipper hell, for those people who will ship anything on a dare. Condemned to eternal mockery, but let’s be real, that’s not actually a punishment for these guys. Featuring: Bella/Tyler’s Van; Bilbo/Smaug; Hogwarts/Giant Squid.
3. gluttony – the ultra-common-shippers You know the one ship. It’s the one that’s in every. single. fic. Even if it’s not the focus, it gets thrown in in the background. Condemned to have their fanart shown to the actors on chat shows. Featuring: Dean/Castiel; John/Sherlock; Clint/Coulson.
4. greed – the multi-shippers They write your favorite pairing, but then when you go to binge on their work it turns out they write EVERYTHING ELSE TOO and OH MY GOD NOT THAT PAIR. Need to pick one OTP like the rest of us. Condemned to be eternally hated by BOTH sides of every shipping war. Featuring: Harry/Ron AND Harry/Luna AND Draco/Ginny.
5. anger – the trash-shippers Trash and they know it. Sometimes it’s trash/cinnamon roll, sometimes it’s trash/trash, but it’s always trash. Condemned to…IDK, be trash? These guys are pretty up front about it. Featuring: Bucky/Pierce; Sauron/Morgoth; Hux/Kylo.
6. heresy – the rare-pair-shippers Not to be confused with the crack-shippers. These guys mean it. Oh god do they mean it. They have treatises about Anonymous Pilot #17/That One Guy From The Novelization. Condemned to three fics on AO3, two of which are mistags. Featuring: Rosie Cotton/Erestor; Deadpool/Sif; Ianto/Rory Williams.
7. violence – the NOTP-shippers That One Ship. The one that inspires Hatred and Outrage in the hearts of All True Believers. They ship it. They are Those People. Condemned to have their ship tags full of indignant posts about BAD EXAMPLES FOR TEENAGE GIRLS. Featuring: Hux/Rey; Dean/Amara; Willow/Kennedy.
8. fraud – the incest-shippers Sure, we all understand they know it’s wrong in real life. We still edge away nervously. They can just go … do their thing … over there. Condemned to awkward questions about whether they have any siblings, forever. Featuring: Sam/Dean; Thor/Loki; Draco/Lucius.
9. treachery – the ship-burners The one circle we can all agree to hate. These are the guys who shoot down one ship so they can put their own in. They’re the ones who demonize female characters so they can ship their favorite gays. Not cool, guys. Condemned to MANY ANGRY REVIEWS. Featuring: Gabriel/Sam/Jess; Clint/Thor/Jane; Harry/Ron/Hermione.
listen. there’s nothing “boring” about ships that are stable and built on mutual trust and respect. there can be angst and drama and all those juicy bits without the characters being absolutely abysmal to each other all the damn time
