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Post by HMARK Center on Jul 23, 2010 1:26:24 GMT -5
It has been my great misfortune over the past year or so to discover the Internet-centric trainwreck that is "Shipping". For anyone unaware, here's TVTropes' take on it: tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ShippingIn a way, I can understand this phenomenon for the reasons the article cites. It's natural for readers and viewers of fiction to cheer certain romances on as we grow more attached to the characters involved. In the case of a series like, say, The Legend of Zelda, where the hero's romantic interests are always left ambiguous, I'm sure it's also fun for some fans to attempt to "fill in the blanks" for the series. However, here's the part I can't understand for the life of me: tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ShipToShipCombatYes, entire fanbases of various books, shows, or movies going into Internet civil wars over which romantic pairing they'd rather see happen, even if the one they want is not reflected at all by the author's work. We've recently had an example of this shoved down our collective societal throat with the Twilight books/movies, but I came across this insanity upon finding a website that's running a weekly comic based on the old Sonic the Hedgehog "SatAM" cartoon, as well as any website that has any discussions of the Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series. Turns out, fans of Sonic, for example, get horrifically pissy with one another if somebody doesn't agree with them who Sonic's girlfriend should be. Nevermind that Sega has mandated that Sonic never have a steady girlfriend in any medium, that won't stop them from arguing who's best/cutest/whatever. Also never mind which relationship is the most well developed or well written, or preferred by the author/creator...that's immaterial to the rabid 'Shipper. And if a romance contrary to the one they want becomes "canon"? They'll STILL rant and rave, draw fanart, and post YouTube videos trying to prove that THEY'RE right, and that the freaking author is wrong. But the fun doesn't stop at mindless Internet bickering! I mean, TVTropes even showed me that there are vocal groups out there that will ship anything/anyone: They'll ship mortal enemies who even happen to be the same gender (Kim Possible and Sheego...not joking), they'll ship grade schoolers (characters on The Fairly Oddparents), they'll ship family members (Zuko and Azula from Avatar...MY EYES STILL BURN)...the entire act of it has seemed to take on a life and fan culture all it's own. Even J.K. Rowling has been vocal about how insane the 'shipping demands of Harry Potter fans drove her, and how discussing the series with many fans became impossible because of it. So, anyways, as much as I'm ragging on the whole "Fight for your 'Ship" phenomenon, let's all fess up; have you ever taken part in this, or at least had a pairing you preferred in a fandom of your's, even if you didn't take part in any debates about it? I'll tell you that as a long time fan of the old Sonic cartoon and the comic book that Archie Comics still publishes about the blue hedgehog, I was shocked when I learned there was anybody out there who didn't like the Sonic/Princess Sally pairing. And when I say "didn't like", I mean some of them absolutely loathed it. So weird to me, since that's the only pairing that had ever made sense to me growing up. No, I haven't taken part in any "Ship to Ship Combat" on this.  I say the best way to settle the issue is to let the creators of the Last Airbender animated series sum it all up for us, in this teaser they put together for a recent Comic Con: |
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Post by waluigi on Jul 23, 2010 1:31:15 GMT -5
Shipping as a whole is dumb to me.
I mean, don't we have enough problems with our own sex lives than to worry about those of people who don't exist?
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Post by Koda, Master Crunchyroller on Jul 23, 2010 1:37:47 GMT -5
I never got Ship to Ship combat. Ok, I kinda get it while relationships are still up in the air, but once a relationship becomes canon, just freaking drop it.
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Post by aka Cthulhu on Jul 23, 2010 1:48:23 GMT -5
It's not weird. MPreg is weird. It's very, very weird.
In any case, shipping is okay; it's just fanfiction in the end and nothing more... though, people who take it too seriously do get a bit annoying. Annoying people are in pretty much every fanbase, too, so it doesn't bother me a lot.
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Toates Madhackrviper
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Post by Toates Madhackrviper on Jul 23, 2010 2:00:57 GMT -5
I naturally find myself doing it. I don't normally get passionate about it, but I remember I Shipped the friggen power rangers when I was four. So I guess it's just a natural thing I do while watching TV or reading comics or whatever else.
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Toates Madhackrviper
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Post by Toates Madhackrviper on Jul 23, 2010 2:05:25 GMT -5
I do however find it annoying when people get into hardcore arguments using evidence and such to try to make their "point". I get having certain couples you like and some you don't, but when I see laundry lists "proving" that, for example, Ash is in love with Gary it's... odd.
And it's also weird because it seems these evidence argue that any time someone hates someone, or is friends with someone, or whatever else it's a sign that they are in love.
But yes, I have couples I enjoy. I have couples that are totally non canon that I enjoy because I think they work esthetically. Can't really help it.
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Toates Madhackrviper
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Post by Toates Madhackrviper on Jul 23, 2010 2:09:13 GMT -5
. Nevermind that Sega has mandated that Sonic never have a steady girlfriend in any medium, that won't stop them from arguing who's best/cutest/whatever. The Archie comics? He's had like at least four in the Archie comics. |
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Post by Alex Shelley on Jul 23, 2010 2:13:47 GMT -5
I do however find it annoying when people get into hardcore arguments using evidence and such to try to make their "point". I get having certain couples you like and some you don't, but when I see laundry lists "proving" that, for example, Ash is in love with Gary it's... odd. And it's also weird because it seems these evidence argue that any time someone hates someone, or is friends with someone, or whatever else it's a sign that they are in love. But yes, I have couples I enjoy. I have couples that are totally non canon that I enjoy because I think they work esthetically. Can't really help it. Yep, pretty much that. It's just natural to "ship" for a lot of people. Sure, some people go overboard, but... If anybody can give me a single example of something that more than five people do that nobody has gone overboard with, I'll give you a freaking medal. |
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Post by HMARK Center on Jul 23, 2010 2:19:55 GMT -5
. Nevermind that Sega has mandated that Sonic never have a steady girlfriend in any medium, that won't stop them from arguing who's best/cutest/whatever. The Archie comics? He's had like at least four in the Archie comics. I had probably stopped reading after a certain point, but I think the mandate from Sega is a relatively recent development. I mean, at one point, didn't they even have him and Sally engaged? Maybe we should just try to find funny "Ship to Ship Combat" stories. I have to assume most of us at least saw one at some point at any given Hot Topic at any given mall after the release of any given Twilight movie. |
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Toates Madhackrviper
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This avatar is so far out of date I might as well stick with it forever now.
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Post by Toates Madhackrviper on Jul 23, 2010 2:26:12 GMT -5
 My friend made this and it involves some shipping stuff. Probably entirely pointless to this thread. BUT DAMNIT IT THOUGHT OF IT SO I POSTED IT. Not a huge Naruto fan myself. But I still think it's funny even if I don't even understand most of it. |
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EvilMasterBetty, Esq.
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Post by EvilMasterBetty, Esq. on Jul 23, 2010 3:33:43 GMT -5
The only thing I can think of that comes close is, while I was reading through Harry Potter, I thought Harry should have ended up with Luna. I mean, I'm not fanatical or anything, nor do I think Rowling got it wrong. It was just my thoughts.
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Post by Ash Kingston on Jul 23, 2010 3:54:07 GMT -5
Shipping is weird... I mean, there are some that make sense because it seems natural (Jesse/James, for example), but then you have the crack pairings, and it just kinda gets creepy. And with the multiple love interests, well, it depends on the series in question. There are probably tons of valid theories/reasons for Ash to get with Misty and May, for example, but in the end we'll never know.
Oh, and finally... Ranma/Akane OTP!
*loads and fires the cannons at Shampoo/Ranma, Ukyo/Ranma, and Ryoga/Akane fans*
...
*and Ran-chan/Tatewaki Kuno fans*
<_<;
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Lara
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Post by Lara on Jul 23, 2010 7:36:57 GMT -5
Oh, I don't know. I think in any fandom where there's any significant amount of fanfic flying around, there will be absolutely rabid shippers who will never accept being contradicted by canon.
I used to write in a small fandom where all the community members knew each other. Two of them very strongly identified with two particular characters, and were convinced this ship was The One True Love. On a dare from a another friend, I wrote and dedicated to the two shippers a fic about their favourite pairing. In the fic, one of them cheated on the other and abandoned them, and the abandoned one then died.
Neither of the two shippers ever spoke to me again.
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Post by El Cokehead del Knife Fight on Jul 23, 2010 8:57:02 GMT -5
Shipping is weird... I mean, there are some that make sense because it seems natural (Jesse/James, for example), but then you have the crack pairings, and it just kinda gets creepy. And with the multiple love interests, well, it depends on the series in question. There are probably tons of valid theories/reasons for Ash to get with Misty and May, for example, but in the end we'll never know. Oh, and finally... Ranma/Akane OTP! *loads and fires the cannons at Shampoo/Ranma, Ukyo/Ranma, and Ryoga/Akane fans* ... *and Ran-chan/Tatewaki Kuno fans* <_<; Well, I ship Ukyo/Ranma using my mind! |
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Fiddleford H. McGucket
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Post by Fiddleford H. McGucket on Jul 23, 2010 9:05:57 GMT -5
Can we at least stop with the Portmanteau Nicknames? Harmonians I'm looking your way here....
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Post by Ash Kingston on Jul 23, 2010 9:56:28 GMT -5
Shipping is weird... I mean, there are some that make sense because it seems natural (Jesse/James, for example), but then you have the crack pairings, and it just kinda gets creepy. And with the multiple love interests, well, it depends on the series in question. There are probably tons of valid theories/reasons for Ash to get with Misty and May, for example, but in the end we'll never know. Oh, and finally... Ranma/Akane OTP! *loads and fires the cannons at Shampoo/Ranma, Ukyo/Ranma, and Ryoga/Akane fans* ... *and Ran-chan/Tatewaki Kuno fans* <_<; Well, I ship Ukyo/Ranma using my mind! *launches cannon balls at UT* >=O BLASPHEMER! |
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darthalexander
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Post by darthalexander on Jul 23, 2010 10:06:35 GMT -5
There is something really really sad about all of this. Have our lives become this barren that we need to do this? Isn't there something we could all be doing that's a lot better?
I don't mind the idea of wanting certain couples to be together and such, but man this stuff gets really really weird and demented. The arguments over these things...oy....
I admit I am a big comic book/horror/sci fi geek. But even I have limits.
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Post by HMARK Center on Jul 23, 2010 10:24:01 GMT -5
There is something really really sad about all of this. Have our lives become this barren that we need to do this? Isn't there something we could all be doing that's a lot better? I don't mind the idea of wanting certain couples to be together and such, but man this stuff gets really really weird and demented. The arguments over these things...oy.... I admit I am a big comic book/horror/sci fi geek. But even I have limits. That's basically how I feel. Like I said before, the natural desire to see a certain pairing end up together as you watch them grow as characters is natural. It's the entire basis of romance movies...I mean, we want to see Rick get the girl at the end of Casablanca, right? When he gives her up, that's what makes it all the more heart breaking. It's even absolutely reasonable to feel that the writer or author could have done something better, and to have a reasonable debate about it. Say, for example, there seems to be a "destined" pairing, yet the author kind of throws a random new love interest in that isn't as developed and doesn't resonate with the audience. Criticizing that would be more like constructive criticism. But it's like you're saying: there are people who basically are as rabid for their favorite 'Ship pairing as somebody like us would be for our favorite hockey teams. I even read that, when the Pirates of the Caribbean movies came out, IMDB had to take drastic measures against the discussion board on it's information page, as Will/Elizabeth fans and Jack/Elizabeth fans were at each other's throats. I repeat, IMDB did this, who's discussion boards are already insane enough. |
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Post by aka Cthulhu on Jul 23, 2010 10:26:00 GMT -5
Shipping is weird... I mean, there are some that make sense because it seems natural (Jesse/James, for example), but then you have the crack pairings, and it just kinda gets creepy. And with the multiple love interests, well, it depends on the series in question. There are probably tons of valid theories/reasons for Ash to get with Misty and May, for example, but in the end we'll never know. Oh, and finally... Ranma/Akane OTP! *loads and fires the cannons at Shampoo/Ranma, Ukyo/Ranma, and Ryoga/Akane fans* ... *and Ran-chan/Tatewaki Kuno fans* <_<; Well, I ship Ukyo/Ranma using my mind! Ha, ha, and ha ha ha! Obviously it's Ranma x Ryoga! Can't fire those cannons at me since that pairing is not listed in your list. P.S. Ukyo x Shampoo was the first pairing I saw in a slash-fic. |
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Matt Dunn
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Post by Matt Dunn on Jul 23, 2010 10:31:45 GMT -5
Yeah, people try to pair Jason and Kimberly in Power Rangers. It's retarded. They even tried to pair Skull and Kim in Forever Red but that's because the ep was written by a hack fanfiction writer.
This isn't limited to comics or sci-fi shit. They even do it for "Scrubs." Some people even tried to pair up JD and Cox in Youtube vids. I shit you not. Creepy, creepy stuff.
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