Shipping Labels: an Introductory Post · 5:33am Nov 5th, 2018

_{not this kind of shipping, though.}

As you dudes know, I gave a barcast interview last saturday. There was a bit of a time crunch due to some technical issues, but i managed to get through most of the questions without wetting myself, which i consider an achievement. Still, I had questions posted my way after the cast was done, including the following:

After learning about your shipping chart from the barcast interview, what do you think of these ships: twi x shining armour, twiluna, twi x cadence, fem. shining x sombra, sweetie x spike, twidash, rarijack, and pinkymaud.

Now, a fair amount of you know that i enjoy shipping a good deal, and can get passionate about some particular character pairings and relationship dynamics. Emphasis on the last bit, by the way: what interests me about the process isn't the way i can show characters being lovey dovey or doing the bump-n-grind, but in fleshing out what the characters would be like based on hypotheses about how they would act in one situation or another, and why. "Applied Character Building," as it were, and developing characters is something i find most enjoyable about writing.

I also love (figuratively) listening to myself talk, which is the reason i'm writing this blog - and possibly more blogs in the future, depending on my attention span. The topic? Examining ships - what the characters selected might have or not have in common, ways their relationship might be solidified, potential conflicts, that sort of thing.

_{This is verr srs subject ppl attenshun pls}

So while this has my attention, I'll outline the basic structure of these posts:

1. Name: The name of the characters involved in the pairing; a possible ship name based on a portmanteau of the characters.

2. Brief Overview: I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that most people know the names of the characters involved. Even so, I'll briefly explain who they are in relation to each other (i.e. how they met or could have met, canonical pre-established history, that sort of thing.)

3. Core Personalities: The personality traits of both characters that stand out the strongest in relation to each other, either because they're almost the same or almost complete opposites. Of course, personalities are often far more complex than a series of bullet points, and in any case can make or break a relationship far more than shared interests or mutual circumstance; still, it's important to define highlights that are likely to color their general interactions as a whole for the sake of creating a general reference, and expand on that later.

4. Companionship Traits: What would bring the two characters together? Personality specifics go here, as well as shared tastes, past histories and other extraneous factors. If "sexual attraction" needs particular elaboration or explanation, i'll talk about it here; otherwise, assume that there's a moderate level if you want characters romantically paired with each other, and that it's a non-issue if it's a platonic ship.

5. Conflict Traits: Exactly as it says on the tin. Note that character conflicts can make a relationship more well-rounded and actually more stable than the impossibly perfect expectations set by a couple with nothing to dislike about each other at all. This can also range from minor quibbles ("she always makes me wash the dishes after she's done cooking") to serious issues ("he's an alcoholic and is refusing to come to terms with it,") and can have topics similarly ranging from personal to superficial.

6. Summary Thoughts: Not necessarily the end - which is why I'm not calling it a conclusion, per se - but bringing the aforementioned ideas together into a semi-cohesive whole.

7. Quick Maths: A few "fic samples" for that particular pairing: the setting for the event that brings them together and catalyzes a relationship between the two.

Now, I've been asked about different ships to explore and discuss, and I do plan on discussing all of them in time! However, I also want to be open to suggestions, and if you guys have pairings you want me to talk about, shoot me a suggestion in the comments. I'll be open to most pairings, ones involving OCs i'm not familiar with and "joke characters" aside (so no, i'm not going to pair Tom and Holder's Boulder, sorry,) and I'll try to offer a concrete answer why if I don't want to discuss one or another.

_{This probably includes Smarty Pants, too, unless you can make a good case argument otherwise}

Also, I want to stress something in particular: This is ENTIRELY my opinion, and should in no way, shape or form be taken as any sort of canonical truth. All ideas and statements made in these posts are made in subjective conjecture, and can be disagreed with and argued against at your wish. I'm treating these as thought exercises more than stating concrete beliefs, this is for entertainment purposes only, and I don't want to insult, disrespect or otherwise appear to think negatively about the opinions of anything else.

Here's to hoping this is as fun for you guys as it'll be for me!