you change the equation i add up to: on shipping, surprise, and sexy time with socrates

[ladderax]

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

Comments

[sneaqui]

GOOD, HARD, philosophical thinking becomes an upward-tending enthusiasm. tee hee. #iamtwelve

I agree good and hard with everything you've said here. And I would also like to add that, for me, I tend to ship characters that compliment each other as opposed to complete each other. As opposed to the couple in question "filling in each others' blanks", I want to see them highlighting and bringing out the good in each other. And when I say "the good" I'm referring not to moral good but to personality traits that are underdeveloped in each of them and that are often not recognized by others.

That's why I love to see fics where Eames recognizes and encourages Arthur's imagination and badassery and Arthur recognizes and encourages Eames analytical side.

This is also why I LOVE comics!Steve/Tony and well-written 616 fic. Cap and Tony are the PERFECT example of this. They are a team in every sense of the word and work better together than they do apart. Tony brings out Steve's practical side and Steve brings out the idealist in Tony. TWOOOOO

[krytella]

I tend to think of popular ships in terms of character archetypes. Mentor and student is a good one, because it has so much juicy potential for reversals. The goody two shoes and the rebel (Starbuck/Apollo from the new BSG) and the shy nerd and the confident charmer (Remus/Sirius has my heart FOREVER) are two favorites.