Fandom Shipper Questions

[shadowkat]

Have some questions for shippers? (I'm trying not to answer or judge here - because I want to understand perspectives that are different from my own. I'm not sure I'm really a shipper, because while I care about relationships, I care about story more. Happily Ever After is not an ending I want or crave really...although it would be nice on occasion, since tragic endings get rather old.)

Which comes first and foremost or is the most important to you: Ship or Story? Characters Emotional Arc or Ship?

*Do you read a book series or watch a tv show/series solely for the romantic relationship ignoring the rest?
* Or is the "ship" just icing, making the show that much more tasty?
* Or is the characters arcs and their story/overall plot what is important? (ie. even if your favorite "ship" never comes to pass or doesn't work out - that's fine as long as it makes sense to the character's arc and is interesting and crunchy? The story comes before the ship?)

This question is the result of latest flirtation with a fan spoiler board for a urban fantasy novel - where I noticed the vast majority of posters were saying - while the book is good, I'm frustrated because I'm not sure about my ship? Or I'm so happy - my ship may happen! Or I threw the book across the room because it killed my ship? Or my dream is for the character to have her moonlight wedding...with T or I or A? The book in question is NOT a romance novel. So this begs the question - is a happily ever after romance necessary?

Is the ship the reason you are watching or reading? OR is it secondary? Or does it depend on the story? ie. For House and Sherlock - you only watch for House/Wilson or Sherlock/Watson - ignoring everything else. Or for Buffy, you only watched for Buffy/Angel or Buffy/Spike? Yet for another show, say BSG, you didn't ship at all and watched for the entire story?

And to what degree has shipping influenced your fanfic/meta writing? Or for that matter, your abhorrence of shipping influenced your writing, involvement in fandom, and reactions to it?
If Whedon, for example, had killed Spike off in the comics and had Buffy and Angel become a full-time heroic couple - would that have influenced how you viewed the comics? Or what if it was the opposite, if Angel died or was exiled, and Buffy and Spike rode off into the proverbial moonlight (sunlight is a bit hard on vampires)? How would you view say Doctor Who - if Ten had fallen in love with Martha Jones instead of Rose Tyler? And how does this influence your reactions to other's in fandom - do you find shipping a positive or negative or a bit of both kind of thing?

Comments

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

the "ship" [is] just icing, making the show/book/movie that much more tasty

I think that is my usual approach. I don't generally read or watch straight-up romances, but "getting and/or staying together" is an interesting part of most people's narratives.

That said, like liliaeth, I do tend to glom onto particular characters, and care deeply what happens to them. Usually, for me, these are very intelligent (perhaps cynical) characters that are underestimated by the larger social group for various reasons, and use their wits to level the playing field. Elizabeth Bennett, Becky Sharpe, Veronica Mars, Buffy Summers, Bugs Bunny, Zoe Graystone, and Spike are all examples of this. I generally want them to be happy, which for most people includes (but is not limited to) finding romantic love, but I'm fairly open on the question of partners.

It gets weird when the author manages to kill my affection for that character, though, which happens. In Vanity Fair I rooted for Becky Sharpe to prevail, right up until it became clear that she was a cruel and uncaring mother, who used her child as just another bargaining chip. She went on to abuse others who held less power than she had, to the point of destroying them, which is pretty much unforgivable to me. I was able to transfer my affections in that case, but it was a terrible blow.

In the case of BtVS, I mostly care what happens to Spike. If he were killed off, I would be hard-pressed to care as much about that world. I also care about Buffy, but the events of S8 have her teetering on the brink of my sympathy — not gone yet, but it could conceivably happen. (I know her actions in S6 ruined her character for some people, but I'm not one of them.) Without Spike around, an unsympathetic Buffy, and Giles dead, I'm not sure I could keep up my interest. Maybe Faith could fill the spot for me, but certainly none of the others could.

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

So much "Word" re: Becky Sharpe! It's possible I may reread that one one of these days. I was so upset with how it all came out, but I was also pretty young when I read it. I wonder if I'd have a different reaction 20 years later?

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

Thackeray really did a bait 'n' switch in that book. The first half (or almost) is biting social commentary about the way that a moribund class-based society is blind to the talents of outsiders, then turns into an argument for that same class structure being somehow correct and justifiable. At least, that's one way of looking at it. It could be that he is making a moral argument throughout that the weak shall inherit the earth, IDEK.

And yes, I think that is what I most objected to about S8. We start out with a rip-roaring tale of girl power gone (mostly) right, and end up being told that (in the simplest possible terms) girls are dumb*. It's icky, and it's not the story I signed up for.

*Also: emotional, slaves to their hormones, and not good leaders — to the point of being a danger to their devoted fathers. Or something. Bleah.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Interesting description of Vanity Fair - a book I haven't read. Now somewhat curious about.

And yes, I think that is what I most objected to about S8. We start out with a rip-roaring tale of girl power gone (mostly) right, and end up being told that (in the simplest possible terms) girls are dumb*. It's icky, and it's not the story I signed up for.

Somewhat similar issues with the comics. (sigh, I promised myself not to comment on the comics any more...)