Entry #2- Let the Ships set sail!

First of all, I'm not dead. But I am a serious multitasker, so along with my part-time I'm also making a lot of art projects while writing stories in my head, managing a little downtime, and keeping in touch with friends/family. It's unfair how few hours there are in a day! I'm getting a little writing down a bit a day, but hopefully the end result will be satisfying.

For right now, I feel like ranting about 'Ships. Being able to root for two characters to get together romantically is definitely a driving force in most stories I partake in. It doesn't have to be a love centered story- I watched the entirety of Gundam Wing for those small Heero/Relena moments that were barely there. But it's hard for me to enjoy a story if there isn't at least a smidge of romance- I'm very girly in that way, I'm sure.

I tend to root for the author of the story's OTPs, most of the time. (Boo, J.K. Rowling for saying she'd change Hermione and Ron's end result if she could write the books again! BOO, I say! ) So I look at the narrative clues the author gives to tell me who to route for. In anime/manga I figured out to watch for a couple that would spot each other in the very beginning of the story, and suddenly, sparkles, flowers, the world slows down- that couple ends up together forever. Figuring out who's going to get together in the beginning allows me to settle in and enjoy the process of seeing it unfold.

Some stories that are relationship-based make it hard to root for one couple, though. Like, in Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya, it seemed like Tohru & Yuki shared that moment first so it was hard for me when I began to see her choose Kyo -even when I grew to love him, too. And I really wanted Yuki to be happy, too. I mean, Takaya-san established Tohru's pity for the cat in the Zodiac's story in the beginning so I should've seen it coming, but boy, did I personally fall for Yuki. I was so glad the manga gave him someone to love. Harem/Reverse harem stories can be the worst when I want only one couple to root for- even when they're horribly addictive. Some of them make all the romantic rivals so endearing that I find myself thinking that I will only be happy with a happy harem ending.

I find love triangles a little more interesting- assuming they're done well. I enjoy every one of Rumiko Takahashi's love triangles, because often enough they're hilarious, unlike some love stories I could mention that are too serious (I was team Edward- let the idiots have each other. And I just never liked Peeta much, can't explain why). In a serious story if the protagonist is indecisive, things get boring fast for me.

Which brings me to Ponies! Other than the rarely seen mutual Twilight Sparkle/ Flash Sentry crush, there are no canon OTPs within the Mane six, and since this is a story based on friendship and not love I don't think there will be anytime soon. When I watch the show I don't really think about romantic relationships, which is funny, because I just said that's one of the things I need a touch of to enjoy. Well, it is fun to watch Spike's crush on Rarity (despite my not shipping it), but most of my romantic story needs are met through the Brony Fandom. You guys are good with your stories! I don't have too much time to read off a computer screen but I love listening to audio adaptations.

In my opinion, the best Ships are the ponies that challenge each other in some way, helping each other grow. The 'opposites attract' trope works for me a lot in that way, and the pony couples I like the most under that idea are Rarity/Apple Jack (inside vs outside), Pinkie Pie/Big Mac (Loud vs Quiet), Twilight Sparkle/Big Mac (Bookish vs Athletic), Twilight Sparkle/Rainbow Dash (Bookish vs Athletic again) and Octavia/Vinyl Scratch (wild vs dignified). Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are clearly opposites, too, and can be cute together but I'm not a big fan of them. I think I have trouble imagining Fluttershy in a romantic relationship at all. And I haven't found a fanfic yet that makes the opposites Twilight and Pinkie Pie (order vs chaos) quite work yet.

Then other thing I like reading about are ponies that are similar, but not so similar they don't have to work at their relationship. I enjoy Apple Jack/Rainbow Dash for their competitive natures clashing, and how stubborn they both can be. I like imagining Discord bringing the silliness out of Celestia, with Celestia helping Discord care about more than himself. And Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich- which I usually wouldn't care for for their similarities- seem to fit so well. I'd imagine they'd struggle too- distance can be a big relationship hurdle with Cheese's traveling, and while you're working to make everypony happy, can both party ponies make the time to make their special somepony happy- without one feeling neglected?

You'll notice a lot of these couples overlap- there's so many choices it's hard to choose one. I guess for me, love is love- if everyone in the story ends up happy, then I'm happy. I likely won't write a romance between two canon characters- it almost feels like it would be mentally setting a relationship in stone. But I'll love to read others' stories. Knowing these things about me, are there any fanfictions you'd recommend? Any well written stories that might change my mind towards your favorite Ship? I'm often influenced by a good story.

Ugh, I thought this would be a short post! Clearly, I've been thinking too much about this.

-Daisy Daedal