Thoughts on Shipping

LOAD Cherry

So as someone who spends so much time on tumblr, I've always felt pretty out of the loop on the whole shipping thing.

I don't really ship people together beyond thinking "this is a pairing that would be interesting to see in canon, but I'm not super invested in it" or "This pairing really cute but I'm pretty sure it will never happen. (Because it's A: queer B: poly or C: the media in question has already ended)" And that partially comes from the fact that I tend to trust the writers' judgment on who should or should not have ended up together. (Which puts me at odds with shippers who fervently sail a dead ship. Zutara iIm looking at you)

I don't get hopelessly invested in these pairings or scenarios, don't cry when I hear sadfic prompts, or get angry when the ship isn't confirmed. I don't think this is weird per se, but I feel a little out of the loop since my personal investment begins and ends with "this is a cute idea."

So, other Heapers, what are your personal experiences with shipping?

Salix Babylonika

I think that shipping people in a story where romance is not a focus is sort of lame.

Crystal

Even Alice and Marisa I'm not ridiculously invested in, but I definitely do have pairings I enjoy seeing since I just consider it one more facet of relationships (one I particularly enjoy). It's fun to imagine what would happen if Hanekawa met Yotsugi, and so it's also fun to imagine what would happen if they were dating. Or mortal enemies. Or the former was just confused by the latter in public.

So I suppose more than you, especially when I get myself worked up, but I also don't really consider myself a shipper. Only other difference being the writers' judgment part, in that I partially do too, though I don't let that restrain the fun any.

That all said, romance is simply romance to me, and this goes just as much for non-romantic relationships. I am pretty open to it and have searched it out frequently in my time. Still consider it something that gets a tad bit much focus though.

LOAD Cherry

Jane said:

I think that shipping people in a story where romance is not a focus is sort of lame.

I tend to agree, but since like 60% of media that's not focused on romance tends to have romantic subplots anyway I figure it's kind of inevitable.

Yarrun XIX

I tend to only ship things that the show itself can support (e.g. ConniexSteven, LarsxSadie). And I don't count that as shipping so much as...being excited as to where the story will go.

And it's on record that it bugs me whenever the show shoves a romantic subplot without the story being able to support it.

Haven

Part of shipping is my immediate emotional response, part of it is a social thing--talking about it with others, bouncing ideas off each other, just generally exploring that potential together.