Ships

[Cast No Shadow]

The "Are You A Shipper" Thread made me think.

My question is, are you a shipper...because you're a shipper. That's you, it's who you are.

Or are you a shipper because of forums and the internet?

Someone, (I'm really sorry, I can't remember who) said they ship Ross and Rachel, and I love Ross and Rachel, but I've shipped them nowhere near as much as I used to ship Spuffy.

I wonder if it's because I now have banner, and fanfic to enhance my experience, which I didn't then.

What do you think?

 

[Kean]

I'll sound like a broken record here, but I can't answer this question without relating it back to Bangel because they are the only couple I've ever actually shipped.

I think I'm a shipper of Bangel because that is just who I am. Years before I heard the words ship, shipper or even Bangel I would think about Buffy and Angel and the what could have beens. I'd have ideas for stories of what their life together would be like, and that was long before I knew what fan fiction was. I never said it out loud (because I had no one to say it too) but I knew they were IT. That they had to be together, that I made sense of the show through them being integral to each other's development. So, for me, the internet has merely been an outlet for a feeling that already existed within me; it didn't create that feeling.

And as I said before, I only feel this way about B/A. I like other couples, or think it would be wrong if they weren't together, but there is no other show in the world where a relationship determines my enjoyment of that show.

 

[brinkster130]

Well, B/A are by far my favorite tv couple and so far they are the only couple who have interested me enough to make me join a forum.

I enjoy other couples but none that have moved me enough to get involved in fandom. Now that I am here and apart of this online community I've noticed I talk about other couples more (Briley 😀) but I'd say I'm a shipper because of B/A.

 

[white avenger]

Well, I shipped Mr Spock and Nurse Chapel long before I ever heard the word "ship" used in that connotation, and we NEVER had any sort of name for it like "Spapel" or "Chock." I read "Trek" magazine with its amateur "Star Trek" short stories long before there was anything called the internet or the literary form we now call "fan fiction." I guess that means that I was shipping before there even were any ships to ship.

 

[FangsAreHott]

I am a shipper because it is who I am. Before I even joined a forum or really engaged in internet activity alot I would ship couples on my favorite tv shows. Only a few have I hardcore shipped though like: Buffy & Angel(BTVS), Damon & Elena(TVD), Nathan & Haley(OTH), Cassie & Adam(TSC)

 

[zobothehobo]

I'm a shipper because it's who I am. I've always been a hopeless romantic. And here romantic means meaningful connections... not hearts and candies. I've always believed in love. Before I used the internet for fandom related things, I paired people together in my shows. I get very emotionally attached to the story and the characters in the story. And I get very attached to their emotions, which includes love. I think part of it is that I've always been so hopeful that everyone finds their match that I see long term commitment every where I look. But there are a lot of ships that I shipped before I used the internet for fandom related things.

I won't lie though, the internet does encourage my shipping. I've said a couple times that being a part of a ship's fandom is a lot like being part of an exclusive club in the community of the fandom as a whole. I mean, it's a fandom within a fandom. You have inside jokes, and references that really only other people who ship that ship really get. You have songs that everyone accepts as the song of this moment or that moment. You notice things that others don't. It's a fandom within a fandom. So just like with fandom in general, the internet encourages it.

 

[Tillow4ever]

I'm a shipper because it's who I am. I've always been a hopeless romantic. And here romantic means meaningful connections... not hearts and candies. I've always believed in love. Before I used the internet for fandom related things, I paired people together in my shows. I get very emotionally attached to the story and the characters in the story. And I get very attached to their emotions, which includes love. I think part of it is that I've always been so hopeful that everyone finds their match that I see long term commitment every where I look. But there are a lot of ships that I shipped before I used the internet for fandom related things.

I won't lie though, the internet does encourage my shipping. I've said a couple times that being a part of a ship's fandom is a lot like being part of an exclusive club in the community of the fandom as a whole. I mean, it's a fandom within a fandom. You have inside jokes, and references that really only other people who ship that ship really get. You have songs that everyone accepts as the song of this moment or that moment. You notice things that others don't. It's a fandom within a fandom. So just like with fandom in general, the internet encourages it.

I agree with pretty much everything here! I am a HUGE shipper of Naley (Nathan/Haley) from One Tree Hill, I'm a shipper of Romione (Ron/Hermione) from Harry Potter, I ship Booth/Brennan on Bones and OBVIOUSLY I ship Tillow! I ship things I can relate to the most and who I find attractive and who go well together and who is IN LOVE!!!! That's why I usually find it hard shipping noncanon ships! I love shipping ships! It's who I am and who I'll always be! They take a special place in my heart and whenever something etremely awesome happens with them I scream and squeal or awww and they just make me so happy. 🙂

 

[zobothehobo]

I agree with pretty much everything here! I am a HUGE shipper of Naley (Nathan/Haley) from One Tree Hill, I'm a shipper of Romione (Ron/Hermione) from Harry Potter, I ship Booth/Brennan on Bones and OBVIOUSLY I ship Tillow! I ship things I can relate to the most and who I find attractive and who go well together and who is IN LOVE!!!! That's why I usually find it hard shipping noncanon ships! I love shipping ships! It's who I am and who I'll always be! They take a special place in my heart and whenever something etremely awesome happens with them I scream and squeal or awww and they just make me so happy. 🙂

Same with the non-canon ships. Usually, if I ship a non-canon ship... it's because they had an episode that "played pretend" or that I've rewatched the series. The only real exceptions to those are Destiel (Supernatural) and Shwatsonlock (Sherlock). Although Shwatsonlock (or Johnlock if you prefer) is canon to me. I accept that is is non canon because it is technically... but there's enough canonical evidence that I do have to remind myself they're technically non-canon. And I ship Destiel more in a way that I know they deeply care for each other and I feel like if one of them made a move, the other wouldn't hesitate and would never turn back. But as it stands, neither one of them has or will consider it. AKA, I'm not one of the fans who is of the opinion that Destiel is getting it on off camera (although that is how I feel about Shwatsonlock).

It's why the Glee fandom makes no sense to me. They ship everyone with everyone because they're like "WE CAN SHIP!!!! LOOK!" And it's like "But you have to have some canonical basis for your ship. You have to be canonically realistic or you're not shipping the characters together, you're shipping people who look like those characters together. The characters are who they are in canon, and you can't change that. Non-canon shipping is something that confuses me.]

Although i will say, I will often pick up on ships long before they come together. Because my favorite part of shipping is the build up. Watching the characters figure it out. Figuring it out yourself. Watching those "almost... almost... ALMOST... ALLLLMMMOOOOSSSTTTTTTTTT......... WHAT HAVE YOU DONE INTERRUPTING THEM?!" moments. So sometimes if it's in the early seasons of a show, I'll ship something that is non-canon... but becomes canon. Because I ship endgames.

 

[Gum Gnome33]

I didn't know that "ship" was a verb until I joined BB, haha. But like I said on another thread, there are a whopping total of 3 relationships that I actively rooted for, nail biting, etc. I'm not really a shipper by nature; give me a good story and some convincing reasons why 2 characters should be together, and I'll probably accept it.

In every ship I care about, it's mainly because I want one particular character, (usually my favorite character), to end up with the person in which he/she seems to express the most interest. I wanted Spike with Buffy because he fought for her love. I wanted Harrison John with Sam McPherson because of his convincing "death bed" email, and I'm a sucker for old friendships turned into relationships. I wanted Donna with Josh in WW because she was so hopelessly and adorably devoted to him and I wanted her to be happy.

 

[xfivebyfive]

I wasn't a shipper before Cangel. I had couples I liked but I wasn't like obsessed. The closest to shipping I came was Phoebe/Cole for Charmed but that came like a month before I found Cangel. So after Cangel my love for them grew too. But growing up relationships were never what I focused on in a show. I had couples like I said I loved but it wasn't until after I joined fandom and went back and became a shipper. Now though I'm totally a shipper lol

 

[SlayerFest]

I didn't even know what "ship" meant until about a year ago, but I've always been fond of non-canon ships. I have a really over active imagination and I find ships like Bangel just too...easy. I mean, I like Bangel but I don't get excited when I think about them. It just is what it is. I love when characters aren't necessarily intended to be together, but there's tons of subtext. I mean Joss intentionally put those Spangel references here and there because he thought it was plausible that they might have had a thing 😉 he said something about that in an interview I think, I don't remember the exact quote. I think everyone is, at times, a shipper. Not everyone is aware that there's a term for it though.

 

[Spikefan31]

I was definitely introduced to shipping by the internet. It especially introduced me to non-canon ships. If not for the internet or fandoms, I probably wouldn't give much thought to shipping. Like, the idea of Draco/Hermione never even crossed my mind until I heard people actually wrote fanfiction about it. Now they're one of my favourite pairings ever, thanks to fanfiction.

 

[Taake]

While the internet/ fourm thought me the term 'ship' I would say that I did actively ship before I was aware of what it was called so it's definitely that I'm just a shipper as a person.

When I first read Wuthering Heights I was a shipper, same for some Marian Keys novels, and my ships are sometimes what keeps me going back to certain books and shows. So yeah, it's in me 🙂

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

What do you think?

Spike and Buffy are the only couple I actively ship, and yes, I think it has alot to do with fandom introducing me to the concept. I adore other couples in shows, and root for them, but Spike/Buffy are the only one that I read fic for, for instance.
Yes, the fandom has fed the fire of my love for them, but I believe I was a shipper at heart to begin with. I always loved them together. It was just that I'd never discovered anyone who felt the same way I did. So, when I discovered this forum, and the rest of the fandom online, I was like, "Wow, there's people as insane about this as I want to be" lol

It's why the Glee fandom makes no sense to me. They ship everyone with everyone because they're like "WE CAN SHIP!!!! LOOK!" And it's like "But you have to have some canonical basis for your ship. You have to be canonically realistic or you're not shipping the characters together, you're shipping people who look like those characters together. The characters are who they are in canon, and you can't change that. Non-canon shipping is something that confuses me.

Haha, I knew there was a reason I didn't go looking for other Glee fans.

 

[kittenpoker]

oh god I'm such a shipper!!!! way before I knew that word. I see chemistry between people and I want to just smoosh them together. I do that with characters and celebrities and people I know too.

I'm weird

🙂