The perception of shipping
*For the purpose of this discussion, someone who enjoys any kind of relationship, het, slash, OT3, OT4, whatever, is a shipper, since shipping comes from (relation)shipping, a non-gender-defined term
Also, for this discussion, we'll ignore my reasons/motivation for slashing vs het shipping
So, I was thinking earlier about how people define shipping or pairings you ship. Namely, how do you define what you ship? The context I started considering it was when I was considering Sam/Dean and Dean/Cas. I was reading Sam/Dean fic, which isn't OOC for me at all. I read S/D slash, I'll notice/comment on particularly slashy scenes in episodes, I'd probably make S/D graphics if I was so inspired. And yet, I don't consider myself a Sam/Dean shipper. I don't talk about it to the degree I talk about D/C(as I'm sure my flist has noticed). On the opposite side of the coin, I'll read Dean/Cas, I'll comment on Dean/Cas scenes, I'll do Dean/Cas graphics. I consider myself a Dean/Cas shipper. Ditto with Sam/Cas. I do the same actions for all three pairings, and yet I don't actively consider myself a Sam/Dean shipper. Is that because I don't hang out with other S/D shippers? Is it because of the stereotypes and stigma attached with shipping S/D that I don't want to fit into? Is it because I've never(so far) felt the urge to make S/D graphics? Of course, there are other minor (slash and het) pairings that I'll read the fics for and comment on scenes in SPN, yet some I do say I ship (Dean/Lisa, Cas/Meg, Michael/Lucifer), and others I don't (Sam/Gabriel most notably).
I considered that it's just because I like Dean/Cas more than Sam/Dean, which, yeah, okay, fits, but on a scale, I ship Sam/Cas less than Sam/Dean, so if it's for that reason, why do I consider myself a Sam/Cas shipper? Is it just because Sassy is so cracky, where S/D is comparatively serious?
I've had similar issues with het shipping, though I haven't really thought about it since then. In Stargate, I enjoyed reading Daniel/Janet fics and Daniel/Janet scenes, and yet I've never really considered myself a Daniel/Janet shipper. In Doctor Who, I'll read and maybe even one day write Amy/Rory fic and I enjoy their scenes a lot, and yet I don't classify myself as a proper Amy/Rory shipper.
I don't know why that happens. I don't think it's shame, because I've never been afraid to cop to shipping unpopular/controversial pairings(hello, SGA!), and in SPN, there really isn't any shame to be found anywhere. In fact, I'm known for shipping any two things that breathe (and even things that don't *coughDean/Impalacough*), which also takes out the possibility that I only ship "canony" things. I can't tell if it's a combination of intensity of emotions + ~special circumstances, or what. Maybe I'm just confusing. XD
SO. The point of all that was to maybe try and make some sense of it. But I'm curious about you guys. Are there pairings you ship but don't actually consider yourself as a shipper? Or am I all alone out here?
ETA: Just to make a point(not sure what point it is, though), I find myself currently reading a fic that has past tumbleweed!Sam/agave plant!Jo resulting in mpreg, and to top it off, it's NOT crack. wat.
Originally posted on Dreamwidth: http://majorshipper.dreamwidth.org/149160.html |
comments / leave a comment
Also, for this discussion, we'll ignore my reasons/motivation for slashing vs het shipping
So, I was thinking earlier about how people define shipping or pairings you ship. Namely, how do you define what you ship? The context I started considering it was when I was considering Sam/Dean and Dean/Cas. I was reading Sam/Dean fic, which isn't OOC for me at all. I read S/D slash, I'll notice/comment on particularly slashy scenes in episodes, I'd probably make S/D graphics if I was so inspired. And yet, I don't consider myself a Sam/Dean shipper. I don't talk about it to the degree I talk about D/C(as I'm sure my flist has noticed). On the opposite side of the coin, I'll read Dean/Cas, I'll comment on Dean/Cas scenes, I'll do Dean/Cas graphics. I consider myself a Dean/Cas shipper. Ditto with Sam/Cas. I do the same actions for all three pairings, and yet I don't actively consider myself a Sam/Dean shipper. Is that because I don't hang out with other S/D shippers? Is it because of the stereotypes and stigma attached with shipping S/D that I don't want to fit into? Is it because I've never(so far) felt the urge to make S/D graphics? Of course, there are other minor (slash and het) pairings that I'll read the fics for and comment on scenes in SPN, yet some I do say I ship (Dean/Lisa, Cas/Meg, Michael/Lucifer), and others I don't (Sam/Gabriel most notably).
I considered that it's just because I like Dean/Cas more than Sam/Dean, which, yeah, okay, fits, but on a scale, I ship Sam/Cas less than Sam/Dean, so if it's for that reason, why do I consider myself a Sam/Cas shipper? Is it just because Sassy is so cracky, where S/D is comparatively serious?
I've had similar issues with het shipping, though I haven't really thought about it since then. In Stargate, I enjoyed reading Daniel/Janet fics and Daniel/Janet scenes, and yet I've never really considered myself a Daniel/Janet shipper. In Doctor Who, I'll read and maybe even one day write Amy/Rory fic and I enjoy their scenes a lot, and yet I don't classify myself as a proper Amy/Rory shipper.
I don't know why that happens. I don't think it's shame, because I've never been afraid to cop to shipping unpopular/controversial pairings(hello, SGA!), and in SPN, there really isn't any shame to be found anywhere. In fact, I'm known for shipping any two things that breathe (and even things that don't *coughDean/Impalacough*), which also takes out the possibility that I only ship "canony" things. I can't tell if it's a combination of intensity of emotions + ~special circumstances, or what. Maybe I'm just confusing. XD
SO. The point of all that was to maybe try and make some sense of it. But I'm curious about you guys. Are there pairings you ship but don't actually consider yourself as a shipper? Or am I all alone out here?
ETA: Just to make a point(not sure what point it is, though), I find myself currently reading a fic that has past tumbleweed!Sam/agave plant!Jo resulting in mpreg, and to top it off, it's NOT crack. wat.
Originally posted on Dreamwidth: http://majorshipper.dreamwidth.org/149160.html |
comments / leave a comment