).More blogging about Shipping · 11:57pm Nov 26th, 2012
I have no idea why I did this but I did some quick, preliminary research into how the four big Dash pairings stack up against each other in popularity across multiple sites.
Why?
Edit: Not that this was ever scientiffic, but it would feel irresponsible to mention that I got these numbers by simply punching the term into the search engine in most cases, unless otherwise mentioned.
Derpibooru
Twidash 593
PinkieDash 493
Flutterdash 362
AppleDash 348
So since I last checked Flutterdash overtook Appledash. Woah. That'll likely turn around again but just for the moment, I'm feeling quite happy. No surprises here otherwise.
Deviant Art
Appledash 2369
Flutterdash 2157
Twidash 920
Pinkiedash 730
Now isn't that interesting. Thing about Deviant Art searches is that they return deviant names as well, so it could simply be that there's more people with accounts named after Flutterdash and Appledash. Since the site offers no way to weed out that disrepency, we'll never know.
Trying to rack up any idea of the stats on Tumblr would be an exercise in futility, so I'll skip it unless I come up with a good idea how one would go about it.
Okay, Fimfiction is a bit difficult, so these results are going to be sketchy at best. All we've got to work with is the google search bar, because oddly enough you can't tag ships here yet. Knighty really should implement that. Trying to plug just the two characters and the romance tag in yields cross-contaminated results. Often Twilight is tagged in Flutterdash fics, and Fluttershy in Pinkiedash and so on and so forth. These results are going to be sketchy. The problem with these results is that they'll return blog entries and user pages. Which means we're getting one result everytime something is mentioned, not every time it's shipped. Works better as a buzzword assessment than as an indicator. Still this is what comes up and the results are interesting.
Twidash 11200
Flutterdash 10200
Pinkiedash 6900
Appledash 4670
I knew Fimfiction was Twidash's heartland going in, but still that's fairly surprising.
I'm running out of ... Oh. I could do those two.
The big ones next. EQD and the Vault. EQD is nigh impossible, for even more of the same reasons Fimfiction is. Our search is limited to google, but on EQD there are so many forms of media in annex that there's no way the results will be valid. Still numbers are numbers, for the sake of prosperity:
Appledash 455
Pinkiedash 353
Flutterdash 281
Twidash 163
Now aren't those interesting numbers. Whoever customised the google search feature did a better job than I thought. That's not the point though, EQD is the closest we've got to an "old world" within the fandom. The way it aggregates results compared to everything else is interesting, but suffice to say, Twidash the most recent pairing of the four to rise, and as such, the least represented on EQD. FlutterDash and PinkieDash are relatively speaking exactly where I expected. No the big surprise is Appledash. Very interesting.
The Vault is a simpler beast. Having read, or at least knowing by reputation most of the fics on there, all it takes is a simple count.
Okay it wasn't as easy as I thought. Some numbers are clear. Pinkiedash has 3, and an additional 1 if you count it's incidental nature in Romance Reports. Twidash has 1, Appledash has 1 and Flutterdash has 1, plus an additional 1 if you can count Home is Where the Hearts Are (Which is a complicating facto. Also, if you're into that sort of thing, read it nao.)
So what do Legolas's elf eyes make of this?
Flutterdash is definitely not on-top here. It's the only Dash pairing unable to claim a dominant share in any of the sites examined. If we looked a bit further afield, maybe we'd find one but that would defeat the purpose, if anyone can point out an obvious site I've forgotten I'll do that, but otherwise the purpose was to look at the major sites where content is posted.
On the other hand, Flutterdash is also the only pairing to not hit the bottom of the list at any point. So that's good. We have solid representation across all the major sites in the fandom, and that's all a ship can ask for. New content every day if you're willing to look for it.
In short, I'll take that.
Everhopeful out.
Normally I try to keep my views of shipping to myself, but. This one's for you bro.
s12.postimage.org/kje6x7mrf/Gif.gif
Legolas can see best ship sailing
I can think of so many reasons of why Appledash is not the best ship, but it's so subjective that it hurts my brain
542428
You sir, are a true bro.
Shipping is the act of forcing two characters into a romantically charged situation while, at the same time, assuming that there is, or there is the potential for, emotional attraction between both parties. Shipping often disregards societal gender rules, and typically occurs in a story of modest length dedicated solely to the chronicling of said romantic pairing.
My question is, why in the world is there an OTP, and why are you (not specifically you, but other shippers like you) so damn competitive about it if it, obviously can't ever be represented in canon. I've heard you often comment on how 'realistic' a pairing is, but that's a moot point given that none of them are realistic at all, period. There will be no romance (save, of course, the ridiculous CMC-induced CheerMac), there will be no kissing, and there will be no lesbianism. Like it or not, MLP:FiM is an American children's cartoon; i.e. it will remain as mainstream as can be. The Royal Wedding was evidence enough of that. And I know this isn't like a 'best pony' thing, because unlike my preference of Derpy over other ponies, you fight for your ship, something that I, honestly, find a bit strange. I'm curious as to how you, of course, define the difference between the two.
I don't wish to rain on your parade or anything; I just feel like playing the Devil's advocate, at least for now.
544805
My friend, I'm glad you asked. I just wish I had an answer for you.
To get to the what, the first question to ask is "Why?". I'll let TVTropes answer that one
This isn't a new thing for me by any means, and I have been at it for a good third of my life-span now. FiM does mark a couple of firsts for me though. It's certainly the first time my peers have been prodominantly male. Also the first time I've latched on to any ship this hard. Before FiM I was more balanced... no actually. I wasn't. I never was. Huh.
As to why OTP's exist... Mostly the term was supposed to be a joke. An ironic play to the perceptions of shipping, that all shippers are rabid, unthinking keyboard warriors. Not far from the truth by any stretch, but by embracing the term, people actually took it to heart. Then there are people like me, who found the term suddenly describing a major problem in their life. People like me who's happiness seems to rest on the possibility of two characters getting together.
That's another thing, it's all about possibility. Shipping is so insidious in children's cartoons because the likelihood of getting shutdown by canon is tiny. It's an easy place to hide from reality, where other TVShows, books, films etc pair characters off because it makes for a better story, often inadventantly ruining the balance in the process.
As to the militarism, don't spare try to spare my feelings. I know what I am. The difference between me and your average shipper, is your average shipper is more tolerant of other ships, and less tactically minded. I spend all my time ranting her because I can see how the game plays out on a meta-level. And it is a game, not one where anyone invested has control either. Like... horse racing in a way.
Take Flutterdash on this website for example. Writers like NintendoGal55 and Souldin are the bread and butter of my day to day. I keep watching them and hope they spit out something new on any given day. The two of them, and the clique around them, are average shippers. They're more balanced than me and are capable of considering other ships occasionally, but prodominantly stick to producing Flutterdash content. You'll also note that none of this content is particularly ground-breaking or exciting, but it makes me smile. I am going somewhere with this.
Now examine shippers like Der_Fur_Shur, Flutterdash777 and Flutterdash7 (Yes those last two are two different people). They make up the meat of the group and you'll notice a few key differences. They're not so hot on producing content as those in the above category, but they're also far more crystalised in their preferences. The avatars and handles give that away. In most other fandoms guys like this group would be out slugging at shippers from other groups in a crude approximation of cyber gang warfare. Not so here, which is nice.
Introducing the third category: Writers like kits and Cloudy Skies. These are the gentlemen who write ground-breaking, memorable content. You'll also notice that they're a lot more balanced in their outlook and in fact flit back and forth across various ships as the mood takes them.
Category four are people of any walk who are only passingly, or by small amounts more interested in Fluttedash than other ships. By their nature, I have no examples for this situation.
Then there's me. If it weren't for me world outlook I'd be a shoe-in for category 2. If I wrote I might make it to category 1. But I see things that no one else does. I am here to play a game that I'm not sure anyone else is playing. You see, those categories? They exist in rough approximation across all fan mediums.
Now I want you to imagine that there is a pool, this pool is the combined power of the fandom's creativity and efforts. In FiM this is a large pool indeed. If we take that pool, and instead reduce it to the sum total creative energy of just the people willing to entertain shipping instead, you'll notice that a) there's less to go around and b) unlike the larger pool, this one is much more easily influenced.
Now reduce that pool again to energy available for Dash shipping content and resource availability drops again, though only slightly. And anywhere where resources are limited, there will be people who want those resources missing out. In this case the resources are channeled into fanworks like stories and art.
You see where I'm going now. Yep, unfortunately for me I can't help but see shipping as a resource conflict akin to the Middle East where oil is replaced with lesbian ponies. And even more unfortunately for me I have no-one to play this perceived conflict out against because I know of no-one on opposing sides or indeed anywhere who sees it the same way. Even more unfortunately I am limited in my channels of approach, and by my non-confrontational outlook. Ironic.
So you see, I want as much content as possible. How does one go about that? Well in order to control a majority share in content, you need to control a majority share in creative resources. And to control a majority share in creative resource is where the fun begins. That takes numbers. Numbers enter at category four and maybe progress further. Numbers breed content, as category four progresses into catregory 1 or 2. In order to get numbers, you've got limited opportunity. There's only so many people receptive to the idea of shipping, and furthermore receptive to particular ships. In order to attract these people, you've only got content to do it with. Higher profile content has a greater likelihood of winning people over. So content from a category 1 is going to attract more than content from a category 2. Re-doing the math, you'll see that it's category threes that do the big stuff. Within and Without, Lost and Found, Who We Are and Those Blue Wings, The Party Never Ended. Content that is memorable and powerful. Problem is, the authors don't declare for any one side. It's chance. Except it isn't. Any bit of content could possibly be the tidbit that inspires something big, and something big brings in a lot of people. It's all a numbers game.
Numbers you can't track reliably or accurately, that have to be inferred.
Now as to why I'm so militaristic is because tactically I am on the wrong side. Flutterdash's major, major problem as a collective is our utter lack of a heavy weight. I didn't mention that before did I?
Bugger. Okay. A heavy-weight in this context is the ultimate asset in this conflict. A category three level of ability or influence, paired with a category two outlook. In this area, and this area alone, Flutterdash has squat. Pinkiedash has Absolute Anonymous. Appledash has Tchernobog. Twidash has friggin Knighty. I don't have anyone with that kind of influence to work with.
So I sit, trapped in the perception of a lonely tactical officer in a tent that leaks, analyzing every little event, every iota of possible information I could possibly use to eek every last little bit of content out of this fandom. And most of the time I can't even bring myself to take action. But you know what? By the end of all this, I'm hoping that instead of me sitting here and thinking "We don't have anyone like that", it'll be the other sides thinking "Where did it all go wrong?". A lofty goal, and one that I likely won't accomplish, but I have to do something to pass the time.
In the end, it's becoming increasingly clear that I am deluded. The conflict is real, even if others aren't consciously aware of it but my awareness of it marks me as damaged goods. Every day I hope to run into someone else who sees as I see, even if they're working against me, at least I'll have someone to talk to.
The question of why I'm for Flutterdash is all that remains, but that's for another time.
For the record, you've never heard me say realistic, though many others would and do. I'm crazy in many ways friend, but I'm not yet crazy enough to think that any of this is ever going canon. If I did, it was in chat and it was a slip of the tongue. No ultimately the best shippers can hope for is a state of implicit, veiled ascension. There's no winning this.
I have taken, what is an ultimately harmless past-time based on theorising, and the prospect of adorable, heart-warming romance and turned it into some kind of bizaare mental theatre of war in the fandom's collective unconscious.
Now you know. Maybe my outlook is like lifting a veil, or maybe it's pure fantasy from the eyes of madness. I can't know. My perspective negates the prospect of knowing. Thought experiments are inconclusive but generally end in me thinking I'm crazy.
If you know or meet anyone like me, send them my way.
I think that answers your question, and many more about me to boot. I just don't think it was the question you asked.
Oh well.
-Everhopeful