Romantic Ships ahoy!!! · 1:17am Feb 15th, 2018
It is Feburary and today is the day of St Valentine. Romance fics are plenty, stories are being told, and I have an article that I want to write. This one looks into a subject that comes up a lot in both mine and the original works. That of romance, and how-
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The romances in Starfleet are horribly done, poorly written, and are just plain bad. If it isn’t the cliche of the OC’s falling in love with the mains then it’s how just ‘there’ the romances happen in the story. Each romance is written in such a way that we are supposed to root for them just because, and this even affects the ship that I actually like in this story.
Thus, in honor of the month and because I am quiet interested in having some fun with the idea, I present a look into the ships of Starfleet and even look at my favorite ships to see how they work and why do all of the ones as written, tend to fail hard.
Let’s start with the only one that is one of my favorite ships on this show.
Sparity:
Ah, a classic ship in this fandom, one that has been around since the beginning. Now, why do we as a fandom enjoy this, and why do I personally enjoy it? Well, it’s not because of anything dirty, or an interest in watching a young boy getting together with a hot older woman. No, actually this kind of ship has existed for a long time now. As a Foster’s fan, I can’t begin to tell you how many Franky and Mac lemons I found on Adult Fan Fiction.net. Hell, it’s almost a cliche for a hot subistute teacher to come into a series and have the girl fall for him and vice-versa. Even Dexter’s lab had a go at this.
So, why do we Sparity shippers like this? Well, speaking personally, I like how sweet Spike can be and there is something interesting about watching a unrequited love passing by. And how he tries his best to act like a heroic knight for the fair Rarity...even though she rarely needs it. (Ah, the problems with being a male knight character in a show with strong females. Please see Gourry, Matt, and Mamarou Chiba). I also like it when Rarity has her moments.
It can even be sweet by saying that Rarity is the type of girl who would wait for her suitor, only to find that Spike is the one all along. Waiting for the one you want and/or waiting for the guy to grow up can be a romantically done story, and age isn’t that big of an issue. My own mother and father had a six year age gap before they were wed.
However, somehow and even though this is a ship I love, the show messes this up! Why is that? Well, once again, it all falls back onto the notion of character and flanderization.
After I read through all of Starfleet season IV, I am willing to bet that the hate scale when it comes to the mane six is: Twilight-Rarity-Pinkie-Dash and Applejack-Fluttershy. Rarity is so hated that she is flanderized into being a moron by the writing and to the point where we as a reader are curious as to why she hasn’t died yet because of her own stupidity. To the point where she does something so stupid as stand in line for hours (Don’t get this. Was this a joke? Was this stolen from something? Because this isn’t funny...it’s retarded.)
In the process of all of this flanderization, we end up taking away something special from the relationship. What was once a potentially sweet romance is now turned into a caretaker and a mentally deficicent romance. ITs less of a love between equals and more of an adult taking care of a small child. Yes, this may feel like it’s taking it far, but that is what is happening in this story. By making Rarity so stupid, she feels less indepentant and less able to work. It become more like Spike is the sole person who would be working for them.
Relationships should be a partnership, and this is not one of those.
I am going to skip Buddy and Tree Hugger because I have NO idea why this exsists or is even here.
RhymeyXFluttershy
Ok, so the problems I have with this couple isn’t because I am a Flutterdash shipper. Heavens no, I love some fics that have Fluttershy with Big mac and Soarin with Rainbow Dash. And it isn’t because Rhymey is a lousy character with no redeemable attributes, though that is five percent. No, the problems with this ship comes from a similar place as the problems with the Sparity. It’s less of a partnership and more of a “I have to protect this little waif from the big bad world.” relationship.
See, I always believe that a good romance is more than just “I am pretty and you are pretty, lets date.” that it needs to be a good partnership between two people. This, is more of just because Fluttershy is a soft spoken flower and the guy needs to protect her. Sadly, this is a problem common with OCs that try to get together with Fluttershy. They see her less as an autonomous pony with her own moments of strength more like a doll that need to be protected and put into a glass case, safe from the world at large.
This brings me to my next problem, just what does Rhymey bring to Fluttershy? What, about him, makes him a catch for her? The reason why I love Flutterdash is because (besides the fact I have a love for best friends falling in love trope coming from my love Kim Possible) I see the two each having something to provide for the other. Dash helps her come out of her shell and Fluttershy can help to keep Dash from going off the deep end. I...don’t really feel that here. All I see is Rhymey just doing standard things, and nothing else.
StarlaXLighting Dawn
Do you know what I hate the most when it comes to ships. When it’s just mainly the two characters basically going “I’m pretty, you’re pretty. Let’s date.” It’s shallow, cheap, and makes the romance feel lifeless. That is what I feel everytime that I see this relationship, that it’s just beause the two are pretty and cute that they belong together. Hell, in the original version of the first season, they went on a play-date. It was only after we all pointed out how childish this was that it got changed in the reboot.
Another problem with their romance is that it’s awefully one-sided here. Ignoring the obvious that they only had one on-screen fight (And I don’t have to be an english major to tell you that this is not a good thing) and look at the fact that the only time we see them really work together is in fights and most of that is spent with Starla yelling out Lighting every five freaking seconds. We rarely see them show too much affection and most of the time it’s on Lighitng’s part.
Do we see them do things that Starla wants? No!
Do we see Starla complain about the lack of time spent together? No
Do we see any other hint besides the occadional kiss that these two are a couple? No.
What would be nice is to see these two off on a date or some other activity together, but nope. Hell, when Starla finally FINALLY finds something dedicated to her hobbies and interests, what is her ‘husband’ doing instead of looking at the books with her? Moping over Twilight’s death and thinking about her instead.
And now for the fun one...
Grand Ruler X Celestia.
Before I begin, I must ask a question. I have been in this game for many, MANY, years and I am actually curious. Has there ever been a female self-insert OC that gets herself together with the female protagonist? Because in every self-insert story I have ever read, it’s usually the girl (Or guy in the case) getting him/herself together with the character he has a crush on (Please see Ami/Will/Ed/Harry/Twilight) Hell, one of the worst lemons I read (Coming of Minihausen) had the author brag about how he got his self-insert and the self inserts of his friends to bang all of the senshi.
And if there isn’t...why is that? And no...Oscar doesn’t count in this case. I have no idea if he even had a gender or was even a real person or was just a figment of my imagination brought on by the head trauma I suffered from reading Chibi-usa’s 7th birthday...
The reason why I ask this, is because this is practically the epitome of self-insert, OC, shipping that I had ever seen in my life. And I have read a fic where a half-human half Gargoyle man with superior powers of the senshi dates and gets engaged to Ami from Sailor Moon for crying out loud.
He has all of the earmarks of such a character: He was bullied, but had a good heart cause he was special. He had a superior destiny, but didn’t hold himself to any standard. He falls in love with the prettiest gal in the room, but it's not superficial. Probably the only thing missing from this list is the maytrdom. He’s even given the customary twin children for his troubles.
So, beyond the obivious problems like lack of development, chemistry, anything even approaching what we call romance that sounds like it came from a bad Disney Channel movie, and this was mainly done because the author wanted to get together with his cartoon crush. Well, a few things.
First, comes in the form of the backstory. The whole thing, besides being a ripoff of Rudolph, feels less like she loves him for him and more like it was a pity date. No, just writing the lines “He and she taught each other many things and spent a lot of time together” doesn’t help to remove this feeling.
Another problem that arises is the I never felt like these two were equals. I always felt like he was just letting Celestia make the decisions out of a courtesy. Sadly, this is always be there because of his ‘superior’ power, as it makes it feel like he is the true power in the relationship.
The other thing that makes this a poorly written romance is the lack of any true feeling behind it. It falls under all of the old tropes, they refer to each other as my love and say things like that as if they actually meant something.
There is a reason why I love shipping dislestia so much. I like the dichotomy between the two, the mixing od chaos and balance, and the fun you can have with the idea. Plus I also love the idea that they can both get to each other in the way that only lovers can.
Now, before I finish, I want to celebrate something good for a moment.
My own personal ships and why I love them. Now, if you looked through my entertainment list, you will see that I have seen a ton of series, played tons of video games, and watched movies so much that I could be a reviewer. So, to spare all of you the long list, I decided to grab some of my personal faves from a select list and explain why I love them. I should note...I am a lover of cannon ships, you have to be very bland to not make me love the cannon ship.
Live-action TV.
Sheridan and Delenn.
What? Did you think I wasn’t going to include my favorite sci-fi series of all time as the first. Oh, this couple, *Sighs* I love it. The way that they support each other, are eacher’s strenghts, and their pillars.
BArry and Iris.
Ok, I am a comic book lover, and to me, these two are a great ouple no matter the verse. She is his lighting rod, his home, and the way back.
(Bonus, Alex and Maggie just because
Tommy and Kim
This was probably the first big ship that I was attached to. And yes, I was ticked off by the dear john letter. And...I got over it, let it happen in the show and stuck with fanfics like Always a Ranger where Tommy and Kim were together. I even wrote my own stories where they stayed together.
And why? Well, they worked together, acted like a strong bond between them and I love their chemistry.
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(Cartoon)
...OTHER THAN MLP!!!
Kim and Ron
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DhjHMa4gNY
HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER!
Kim and Shego.
Ok, so this might take a little explaining. See, I am a lover of cannon ships, as mentiioned, and I am a die hard Kim and Ron shipper. They fit in all of the right catagories for me when it comes to a romance. However...Kigo is the weird one in the bunch. I shouldn’t love it as I do, I should just hsake my head at it. But, then I read something like Maternal instinct or Tangled up in green and I start to see it. It somehow becomes good to me. I don’t know why...
Helga and Arnold.
*Sighs* Ok, this is another one that is close to my heart. And...IT’S CANNON NOW!!!!
(My reaction to the fact that it happened in the Jungle movie.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-bK58aAvR0
But, I do have a good love for an unrequited love. Also, I feel like Arnold tends to bring out the better side of Helga, wether she wants it or not.
Speaking of characters that help bring the best out of everyone.
3 & 4
You know, I think I am starting to see a pattern in these ships. They are either best friends or opposites. But, that can’t be true, I mean it’s not like one of my fave cartoon ships is also
Danny and Sam.
Ok, so yeah. I do have a love for this kind of thing.
Oh, and if anyone is wondering why Avatar is not here. Because I couldn’t pick a good Ang and Katara amv, there were too many.
W.I.T.C.H
Wich ones?
All of them!!!!!
Will and Matt
Irma and a cute girl
Taranee and Nigel
Cornelia and Caleb
Hay Lin and Eric.
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(Video Games)
Sonic and Sally Acorn
If there is two things that will attract me to a ship, it’s friendship and a chance to be something more for each other. And Sonic does this for Sal.
Link and Zelda.
The best couple in video games in my opinion. A knight and his princess.
It took me a while, but I decided to let Cecil and Rosa highlight this one.
Let me be honest, there is not a main couple of FF that I don’t love. Cloud and Tifa, Squall and Rinoa, Tidus and Yuna, I love all of them. I just happen to be obsessed with IV at the moment of this blog.
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(Anime)
Miho and Masturi.
Ok, so Bakuman is a personal fave of mine just on the themes alone.
Bulma and Vegeta.
I like this better than Goku and Chi Chi, I really do.
Usagi and Mamarou
Nothing like a destined love to wrap things up.
Ah, but some of these are just a few of my favorite ships. Any particular ones that you love, please write down at the bottom, I am curious.
OK, one more. One that is very dear to my heart.
Night Nurse and her husband, Friendly Bear. Aka...my mom and dad.
These two...are what I always think of what it meant to be a perfect couple. Meeting in the army, they fell in love because Dad made her laugh and made her smile. She came from a bad place, where people hurt her and dad brought her out with a smile and kind word. She had her dreams and life to live, and when she told him about it, my dad had only this to say...
"I'll support you all the way."
Thye had to marry early, in order to stay together. Though some thought differently, but they carried on and were married in a small house in a small town. Together they went to germany and in four years of their marriage, they had me. In order to support my mom, my father worked hard until she was in a place to acheive her dreams, and when she was working...he took care of me and my brother.
Though they fought, they got mad, and had their silly arguments, I...was never afraid. I never feared they would divorce or cheat on one another, because I knew they would make up later. When mom needed something, Father was there. When my dad needed her, he was there. Together, they taught me that love is all about being a partnership. It's about give and take, to be there for one another and to help each other. It's all about being a partner for each other and to help each other.
My dad...is gone now. My mom never had a need to remarry because she always would think about him. She talks about the good and bad times with him, and will always remember him for being the great man he was. They had a love that always inspired me when I write and still do.
So, here's to mom and dad and all of the couples I know in real life.
This was really well thought out, I appreciate how much you put into this.
I'm also a fan of "close friends becoming lovers" trope. It's why I ship Clintasha in the MCU.
So the way Mykan writes pairings are either: Domestic Abuse or Loving a Shadow?
It was nice hearing you talk about your favorite ships, especially about your mom and dad. Thank you for the videos.
I just love Sanvers.
Still angry about The CW.
https://hubakon1368.tumblr.com/post/170904785068
Impressive blog😊 legend, I too notice the line of characters he hates. Twilight is dead,rarity is weaken beyond belief and pinkie too but not as much, Rd gotten too hot headed. Aj and Fluttershy are the only ones that haven't hit too hard. Heck I would be okay if buddy and AJ got shipped.
I also agree that a relationship should be like a partnership. Having each others back, helping each other, bonding naturally, the works.
Also, Finally another sonic x sally lover 😊 I am no longer alone
.
From "Oggy and the Cockroaches":
Oggy and Olivia. Enough said.
Say, can we also read your opinions of Mykan's shippings from other franchises?
Don't look now but... Please refute this.
Nice to hear from you, Legend.
It sounds like your family are awesome.
To be perfectly honest, I'm pretty certain there's a very sick agenda to his ideas on romance.
I mean, in all his stories, they focus either on a romance where the female lead's a doormat or a failed romance where the female lead got tired of being a doormat (And somehow deserving horrific punishment for it)
Whatever he says to the contrary, he rarely if ever shows otherwise.
Frankly the only thing I can say to the love interests who reject his self-inserts is 'Bullet Dodged, Girl!'
Personally, my favourite Ships in MLP (Aside from the main cast featured in your fic
) are Fancyfleur, Lyrabon, Scratchtavia, Cheerimac and Derpydoctor.
And Dinkysqueak though that's a Toy Ship.
4798716
What I find interesting is that almost all of those are in the fic (Except Derpy and the Doctor...that' mainly because he is too busy right now to show up. That, and I ran through the equations, if I put in the doctor...he would break the fic.)
4798351
Sure, might do that on my Tumblr or Blog.
4798735
Fair enough.
One of the reasons I love the fic so much.
I completely missed this blog post when you actually put it up, so I hope you don't mind me commenting now:
I would put money that this is our good friend the Whore-Madonna complex rearing his head again. Rarity catches all the flack because she's obviously wearing makeup and takes pride in her appearance and likes dressing up and thus she is clearly a painted jezebel to be despised (you can spot this all the way back with Demetia in the original fic, who is practically Rarity the Evil Beta Test version who's definining trait is her vanity); against this you have sweet virginal Fluttershy (seriously, that chapter where she and Rhymey kiss and freak out about it has 'G-rated Sex Metaphor' written all over it) who doesn't take any obvious care in her appearance but who has 'natural beauty' and is thus worthy of the hand of a bold knight.
It's notable that Starla is also supposed to be a natural beauty, while bete noire Cadance can be seen putting one makeup at least once.
Especially since Buddy was actually shipped fairly competently with one-shot guest star Colonel Lily Bud in SFMIII. She even puts on a wedding dress and asks her to stay on Herboss with him before we get a fade to black loaded with implications!
I'm pretty sure that was taken directly from an episode of Teen Titans.
Well, Twilight is the one he really wanted to marry...
And everything you said about Celestia x Celesto is spot on.
4818434
Yeah, but when Beast Boy did it (Just watched that episode and this blog was before that one. Yeah, just now watching the entire the series for the first time. It's awesome, but I am a little afraid that season 3 and 5 might be dissappointing due to Season 4 having Trigon in it) It was sweet and showed his own personal puppy love. It made sense that he would because he was trying his best to not go to far and was nervous around her. It was sweet, here it was childish.
It's a shame that P.A is dead. I would love to show proof of how he originally paired off Twi-->Lighting, Buddy---->AJ, Artie----->Pinks, and Rhymey-------->Flutters.
Oh yeah, I can see that. Its especially appearent when you note almost every female villian is into her looks.
You had proof? Actual proof that that was how it was going to go down.
VINDICATED!
If I've never told you that you've been doing an excellent job shipping Artie and Pinkie on a slow burn...you've been doing an excellent job shipping Artie and Pinkie on a slow burn.