So, can I ask all you shippers a serious question? What exactly is the appeal of sticking two characters together for no apparent reason? I really don't get it. At all.

And don't you dare say porn. I may have to hurt someone if you do.

Awkward Pagetopper, HO! (and two for two )

edited 19th Feb '12 3:03:42 PM by PerpetualLurker

@Mage: Well, I tend to write smut, but I can understand if that wouldn't appeal to you. XD

edited 19th Feb '12 3:05:41 PM by RedSavant

@ Lurker: Opposites Attract? Foe Yay? Characters are rarely complete opposites anyway.

You edited that. Basically just to see what happens.

edited 19th Feb '12 3:04:48 PM by Badwolfwho

Btw, do people consider the Doctor from Read it and Weep to be a different character from Caramel?

We all know Fluttershy is Angel's (female dog.) I wonder if he makes her wear a collar?

@ PL

I do it sometimes because it's cute. But I'm a casual shipper.

@ PL

I ship because I see the potential is story and character development of two characters relative to each other. Like....take Zutara: writing about that dynamic, about the potential plot and story that can spurn from their potential romantic relationship, I find that fascinating.

@ Red

Well....

edited 19th Feb '12 3:06:02 PM by LMage

@Lurker: In my case, I tend to do it to explore relationships that are present in the show (Gilda and Dash's dynamic, for instance; they're one of the two pairs I actively ship) or to explore what might happen between two characters who have never interacted before (Fluttershy and Big Mac, the other). I despise ships that attempt to rewrite canon in favor of making the characters like each other, though.

Basically, Lurker: some fans like to play god

Really, all Fanfiction is us playing God with another persons world.

And the rest of fiction is just plain playing God.

@ginger: Nope. The Doctor mmight've been a brother or something, but NOT the same guy as Caramel.

@Bad That doesn't explain why, though. If it's in a fanfic setting, I can understand it a bit better. At least there you get to (maybe) see development and (possibly) have the writer try and apply logic to it. What I don't get is why people say "I ship _____/_____". What's the reasoning? It's definitely something that people take very seriously, otherwise Ship-to-Ship Combat wouldn't exist. I'm just a bit lost here, is all.

Edit: Ninja'd by better explanations.

edited 19th Feb '12 3:10:20 PM by PerpetualLurker

It's worse than playing god. God gave his people free will. Writers don't, they control EVERYTHING.

You're playing... something more controlling than god

I had a few prompts that I posted to the Glee Kink Meme that I went back to see if they sparked my interest still, but the only one I am really interested in filling already has two fillers >.>

I figure if I can just get writing again going back to the Daring Do story should be easy.

At the Daring Do drawing.

Dat "dat meme"!

@ L Mage: Try writing something silly, shippy or both maybe?

Had an idea for a fanfic where Fluttershy's staredown with the cockatrice and chickatrices led to her absorbing some of their powers and if she stares at ponies too hard she can turn them to stone.

Note that this is going off of what i read about the episode as I've never watched any of them. XD

@L Mage: Yeah, my standard procedure is to write something else when I get stuck, or else just let it sit for a while.

@Lurker: Pretty much the same reason as Red Savant; it's a way to explore aspects of the characters that we don't seen in canon. Sort of a "I wonder what would happen if these two characters got together" or "What would it take to get them together. One of old projects was basically just picking 2 characters at random and seeing if I could write a situation that made sense.

@Ginger: Not necessarily; a really good author develops the character enough so that it's less "I want them to do this" and more just asking "What would they do in this situation?" and simply writing it down. I know that a lot of what I write is just me dumping a character in a situation and going "okay, what are they going to do?"

Note that this is going off of what i read about the episode as I've never watched any of them. XD

You've never watched a FIM episode? O_O

Okay, you might want to actually watch the episode in question first.

Recently passed through the Earth Temple. I somehow already knew that the boulder that chases you down after getting the boss key would return, just not quite as a spider rock lava monster....

Aaanyhoooo, I don't really take shipping seriously. Mostly between the Mane Six, but thats about it.

edited 19th Feb '12 3:26:48 PM by TheFreeman

@Bad wolf who

Twchnicly discord Dr whoobes wpild be The valeyaed.

But that pairing would be very cute and both are supersnart

Yeah, pretty much all my non-canon ships are largely theoretical. The only one I take even a little seriously is Lyra/Bonbon.

Okay, I have no idea what half those words are. You should probably try to get a browser with built in spell check.

edited 19th Feb '12 3:27:29 PM by JapaneseTeeth

JT summed the shipping bit up well. It's all about hypotheical situations.

I used to ship Mac with Fluttershy...Pinkie...