Let's Talk Why I Think Shipping is a Plague · 2:46am Apr 1st, 2019
I hate shipping. Normally, my standard response to shipping talk is "shipping is a plague." But in this case, allow me to tell you why I believe that.
But first, to preface, I don't actually care if someone ships or not. I'm not out to ruin anyone's fun. Shipping in and of itself is not the problem. The problem is all the bullshit that comes with it.
Aside from pointless "shipping wars" which have been around fandom for fucking ever (and I've been on the internet for almost 25 years, I've seen a LOT of shipping wars), the main problems I have with shipping are 1. the sheer number of fics out there which are nothing but Character A and Character B declare their love for each other after several dozen romance tropes which are on the verge of cliche status, 2. the number of fans who demand shipping in a story when that isn't the focus, and 3. the fact that non-romantic relationships are seen as "lesser" in the eyes of so many fans.
That last one is especially egregious here, given the basic theme of both FiM and EQG. What is wrong with these girls being friends, in either form? Why does everything have to boil down to what is, essentially, who's banging who? Can't these girls hug, or hold hands, or express any kind of affection for each other without everybody jumping up and down going "THEY'RE IN LURRRRRVE!"?
This is why the whole thing with Ragamuffin in "Spring Breakdown" made me roll my eyes, and the breif moment where Twilight expressed affection for Sunset and put her hand on hers made me yell out loud "OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" Shipbaiting and pandering is the worst thing about Confalone's writing of late, and why I really hope the next major EQG installment is written by somebody else.
You wanna ship, fine, go ahead. But I just wish fandom in general would get it through their heads that there's plenty more to write about than fucking romance.
I never thought I'd find a kindred spirit. This is wonderful.
Overdone, shipping is. On that, there is no doubt. If there is romance in a fic, it should be gradual, natural, and understandable. Rushed, it should never be.
Personally, I feel that a fic, if it does romance right, can do what it wants with “shipping”, but that the audience shouldn’t be so audastic as to demand a certain ship or demand it happen immediately, or even assume they know what’s happening before it does. That is when it ruins a part of a fandom for me, especially if it feels like the author gave into it.
I personally don't mind shipping as long as it doesn't get too far into "ick" territory like CelestiaxTwilight, she's practically a second mother to her for god's sake.
im a shipper but i get where your coming from i dont know if your a fan of star VS the forces of evil but that fanbase is currently being horrid after most recent episode
more liek ur faec is a plage lol :V
But seriously, half the reasons you state can be summed up as "bad writing", in which case you can replace "shipping" with "fanfiction" and see how the rest of the world feels. <.<
I'll admit I've only ever been involved in shipping in this fandom, but I've literally never seen a shipping war. I'm starting to think that's a joke people have made up to have something to reminisce about with a shudder.
I can definitely share the sentiments here, and i say that as, well, sort of a shipper. I don't ship nearly as much as a stereotypical shipper but when I do ship, I ship it hard. But that said I usually like more than just that in my stories, even when I do go for the shipping. My favorite is adventure where romance develops on the side. And I also love a good close friends relationship. Like stories where Fluttershy and Dash are depicted more like self-appointed sisters than anything, that's one of my personal faves.
One of the things that bugs me honestly is how many stories are just about two characters getting together. Like when I was really new to fandom back in the Phineas and Ferb fandom where I did more just-romance reading than I do now, I was still disappointed how every story pretty much stopped when the characters got together. I'm generally less interested in how the two characters get together in a story (and seriously, that tends to drag way more than necessary) and more in what their relationship is like, what kinds of trials they overcome and experiences they have together.
That's just a personal gripe with shipping for me, on top of what you mentioned. XD
And yeah, no shipping wars for me. Just the occasional smack to the back of someone's head for bringing out a crackship. XD