you change the equation i add up to: on shipping, surprise, and sexy time with socrates
If you haven't read this essay by saucery about why some pairings become more popular than others, do it. It's incredibly thought-provoking and funny.
"Something about it speaks to you, beyond the mere socially acceptable forms of fannish liturgy; something about it is exactly what you need, the call of Self to Other, a binary opposition resolving itself. Something about it is basal and basic, a primordial chemistry, an ancient balancing-act in the process of... well, balancing itself."
It certainly explains why, for example, Sirius/Remus was infinitely more popular than Sirius/James--aside from James being dead at the time of the novels, Sirius and James were also maybe just too similar. (They also both had dark hair. I found a thing on Tumblr that said that dark hair/light hair couples* tended to be most popular, and I might be inclined to agree.) Everyone loves a good binary, or apparent binary, when it comes to relationships.
And I think that things like power dynamics (official or unofficial or some combination thereof) play a role in this too. It's why agekink and student/teacher pairings are so popular. First of all, we've got that Platonic cultural inheritance where student and teacher relationships (in the broadest sense) are often seen to be infused with an erotic power. Writes Kathleen Hull,
Plato’s own thinking-indeed, his whole project in philosophy-had its source in his love of his teacher, Socrates. Plato’s eros was real. Illuminated by the reality of his concrete experience, his love for Socrates was eventually transformed into a love of wisdom. Thus, Jaspers suggests, for Plato, thinking-good, hard, philosophical thinking becomes an upward-tending enthusiasm. In other words, both desire for wisdom and the intellectual means to it emerge through eros."
(Hull 26)
Which dovetails nicely with Saucery's point about the ideal shippy relationships being especially dialectical. We, or the characters we ship, are not only in love with the other person, but with everything around them, everything that makes them great or that they make great by their association with it. And, if something about them finds some harmonic point within us, we want them because of who they can help us to be. And, speaking of dialectical, such relationships can reveal the weakness in "strong" and experienced characters, can show that they still have things to learn and that they need love. THE TEACHER BECOMES THE STUDENT!
This reversal, I think, whether it happens in a single plot arc or repeatedly, can be one of the things that most draws people to ships. One of my first big ships was Garak/Bashir from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and some of my favorite moments were those when Garak, the older, more experienced spy whom Bashir at first seeks to emulate, needs Bashir's help or forgiveness or validation. And they are constantly learning from each other in their conversations about literature. The combustion of Bashir's humanity and Garak's cold pragmatism make a lot happen in the plot. And the moments where they mirror each other, whether they are together or not, are immensely satisfying--Bashir threatening to shoot Garak in "Our Man Bashir"; Garak's conscience prohibiting him from torturing Odo in "The Die Is Cast". These actions and qualities may not have come about because of their interactions, but it shows us that they are capable of understanding each other. That there is something in each of them that symbiosis with the other can reach and expand upon. And there is something inside them with which they can surprise each other. Characters who seem incapable of surprising each other (in good or at least interesting ways) don't, in my mind, make the best ships--whether that's because they know each other too well, BROTP style, or because they don't have inner depths that speak to interests or qualities shared by their opposite number.
This, I think is one of the reasons I like Arthur/Eames so much. Despite our knowing so little about these characters, they seem like they could surprise each other. Whether or not Eames already knows that Arthur doesn't lack imagination, we see Arthur exhibiting a finely-honed aesthetic sense, coming up with innovative solutions to problems, and having a bit of fun. And we know that Eames impresses Arthur with his lips with his intelligence and competence. If they aren't thoroughly surprised at this point, I get the feeling that they have surprised each other quite a bit before, and that they have the potential to do so in the future. The kind of surprise I'm talking about that makes for a good ship isn't quite the "oh wow, you can do awesome motorcycle tricks! I thought you were brave, but you're REALLY brave!" It's seeing an idealistic young doctor be as cold-blooded as an assassin, or seeing a quiet and unassuming friend fearlessly battle evil, or seeing the kindness and vulnerability in a seemingly heartless person. It's not always a good thing; it's seeing that the person you had to sacrifice for the greater good now has the strength to sacrifice you for some other necessity, while you're the one clinging to him and asking for reassurance that he loves you (HI NIKO).
But the point is, maybe sometimes you don't really fall in love so much as you're shocked into it by seeing in someone else something that you thought was yours alone, or something that you love but don't think the other character is capable of giving. Or maybe even your worst fear that also somehow magnetizes you. And that gives us lots of fodder for interiority of the kind that spawns A Thousand Fics. What is X character THINKING when this happens? It's gotta be a doozy. How fucking AMAZED/SCARED/TURNED THE HELL ON does zie have to be right now? It doesn't necessarily go both ways, in which case ANGST may result. But it's always somehow delicious.
And this is one of my favorite tropes in fic. The fic that first comes to mind is toomuchplor's The Sweetest Downfall, where Eames realizes that Arthur isn't the stone-cold hardass he appears to be (at least not in bed). Then there's immoral-crow's Captains Courageous, where Eames's solicitous, mysterious lover and his aloof coworker appear to be two completely different people--the keyword being appear. Come to think of it, her Correspondence Course also addresses this theme beautifully.
I address it in my own Erasure and Stiff Drink, which are, perhaps not coincidentally, two of my most popular fics. They surprise each other, and they surprise themselves with what they are willing to do for each other.
Here's a good song. Anyone remember this one?
"With you, there's no easy answer, it's true. You change the equation I add up to. And all of the things that I thought I knew, you turn it around."
*Of course, there are also racial and gender issues that play into what ships become popular. The popular ships tend to include white people. This could be partly because the writers of canon tend to write white characters into these sorts of complex relationships--I wish I could find that list of "what white characters get to do in movies/what black characters get to do"--and partly because of what many fans gravitate toward. Garak/Bashir is actually one of the few major ships I can think of that includes a character of color, but then, I'm not familiar with every fandom. I'd love to hear more.
"Something about it speaks to you, beyond the mere socially acceptable forms of fannish liturgy; something about it is exactly what you need, the call of Self to Other, a binary opposition resolving itself. Something about it is basal and basic, a primordial chemistry, an ancient balancing-act in the process of... well, balancing itself."
It certainly explains why, for example, Sirius/Remus was infinitely more popular than Sirius/James--aside from James being dead at the time of the novels, Sirius and James were also maybe just too similar. (They also both had dark hair. I found a thing on Tumblr that said that dark hair/light hair couples* tended to be most popular, and I might be inclined to agree.) Everyone loves a good binary, or apparent binary, when it comes to relationships.
And I think that things like power dynamics (official or unofficial or some combination thereof) play a role in this too. It's why agekink and student/teacher pairings are so popular. First of all, we've got that Platonic cultural inheritance where student and teacher relationships (in the broadest sense) are often seen to be infused with an erotic power. Writes Kathleen Hull,
Plato’s own thinking-indeed, his whole project in philosophy-had its source in his love of his teacher, Socrates. Plato’s eros was real. Illuminated by the reality of his concrete experience, his love for Socrates was eventually transformed into a love of wisdom. Thus, Jaspers suggests, for Plato, thinking-good, hard, philosophical thinking becomes an upward-tending enthusiasm. In other words, both desire for wisdom and the intellectual means to it emerge through eros."
(Hull 26)
Which dovetails nicely with Saucery's point about the ideal shippy relationships being especially dialectical. We, or the characters we ship, are not only in love with the other person, but with everything around them, everything that makes them great or that they make great by their association with it. And, if something about them finds some harmonic point within us, we want them because of who they can help us to be. And, speaking of dialectical, such relationships can reveal the weakness in "strong" and experienced characters, can show that they still have things to learn and that they need love. THE TEACHER BECOMES THE STUDENT!
This reversal, I think, whether it happens in a single plot arc or repeatedly, can be one of the things that most draws people to ships. One of my first big ships was Garak/Bashir from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and some of my favorite moments were those when Garak, the older, more experienced spy whom Bashir at first seeks to emulate, needs Bashir's help or forgiveness or validation. And they are constantly learning from each other in their conversations about literature. The combustion of Bashir's humanity and Garak's cold pragmatism make a lot happen in the plot. And the moments where they mirror each other, whether they are together or not, are immensely satisfying--Bashir threatening to shoot Garak in "Our Man Bashir"; Garak's conscience prohibiting him from torturing Odo in "The Die Is Cast". These actions and qualities may not have come about because of their interactions, but it shows us that they are capable of understanding each other. That there is something in each of them that symbiosis with the other can reach and expand upon. And there is something inside them with which they can surprise each other. Characters who seem incapable of surprising each other (in good or at least interesting ways) don't, in my mind, make the best ships--whether that's because they know each other too well, BROTP style, or because they don't have inner depths that speak to interests or qualities shared by their opposite number.
This, I think is one of the reasons I like Arthur/Eames so much. Despite our knowing so little about these characters, they seem like they could surprise each other. Whether or not Eames already knows that Arthur doesn't lack imagination, we see Arthur exhibiting a finely-honed aesthetic sense, coming up with innovative solutions to problems, and having a bit of fun. And we know that Eames impresses Arthur with his lips with his intelligence and competence. If they aren't thoroughly surprised at this point, I get the feeling that they have surprised each other quite a bit before, and that they have the potential to do so in the future. The kind of surprise I'm talking about that makes for a good ship isn't quite the "oh wow, you can do awesome motorcycle tricks! I thought you were brave, but you're REALLY brave!" It's seeing an idealistic young doctor be as cold-blooded as an assassin, or seeing a quiet and unassuming friend fearlessly battle evil, or seeing the kindness and vulnerability in a seemingly heartless person. It's not always a good thing; it's seeing that the person you had to sacrifice for the greater good now has the strength to sacrifice you for some other necessity, while you're the one clinging to him and asking for reassurance that he loves you (HI NIKO).
But the point is, maybe sometimes you don't really fall in love so much as you're shocked into it by seeing in someone else something that you thought was yours alone, or something that you love but don't think the other character is capable of giving. Or maybe even your worst fear that also somehow magnetizes you. And that gives us lots of fodder for interiority of the kind that spawns A Thousand Fics. What is X character THINKING when this happens? It's gotta be a doozy. How fucking AMAZED/SCARED/TURNED THE HELL ON does zie have to be right now? It doesn't necessarily go both ways, in which case ANGST may result. But it's always somehow delicious.
And this is one of my favorite tropes in fic. The fic that first comes to mind is toomuchplor's The Sweetest Downfall, where Eames realizes that Arthur isn't the stone-cold hardass he appears to be (at least not in bed). Then there's immoral-crow's Captains Courageous, where Eames's solicitous, mysterious lover and his aloof coworker appear to be two completely different people--the keyword being appear. Come to think of it, her Correspondence Course also addresses this theme beautifully.
I address it in my own Erasure and Stiff Drink, which are, perhaps not coincidentally, two of my most popular fics. They surprise each other, and they surprise themselves with what they are willing to do for each other.
Here's a good song. Anyone remember this one?
"With you, there's no easy answer, it's true. You change the equation I add up to. And all of the things that I thought I knew, you turn it around."
Click to view*Of course, there are also racial and gender issues that play into what ships become popular. The popular ships tend to include white people. This could be partly because the writers of canon tend to write white characters into these sorts of complex relationships--I wish I could find that list of "what white characters get to do in movies/what black characters get to do"--and partly because of what many fans gravitate toward. Garak/Bashir is actually one of the few major ships I can think of that includes a character of color, but then, I'm not familiar with every fandom. I'd love to hear more.